Obi-Wan
The Hapan mansion was unlike any he'd seen, at least inside. The sleek metal and glass of modern architecture had been shunned in favor of dark woods, vaulted ceilings, antique fixtures. Either this place had been here a very long time, or the Hapans were resolute in shunning the rest of society.
The white-haired man-Maris, Bail had said-had eyed him skeptically before going to speak to the princess. Of course, it was going to raise red flags, a Jedi visiting a Hapan without invitation. But he'd come back to the door and simply said, "She will see you."
Bail's nervous energy had dispelled, mellowed by something more grim. He already believed her. He was just trying to figure out what to do with her, this ally who could not be trusted.
Maris gestured them into an anteroom. Bail entered first, and Obi-Wan inclined his head as he followed, trying to strike an unthreatening pose.
"Princess," Bail said, "forgive me. You were right."
Obi-Wan lifted his eyes and felt the air turn to glass.
She stared past Bail as though he did not exist, those pale blue eyes wide. Obi-Wan tried to swallow, tried to think, tried to tell himself he'd expected this, but gods how could he have expected this? The Force had pulled all these things together, but what insanity was happening here?
She was the same, and different. Stronger, more resolute. Dressed in fine, draping things rather than the rough peasant's fabric of the previous day. Hair back in careful braids and curls, fine stones glinting in between. Trappings. He saw her more clearly today. She'd been more herself last night, for all the hiding she'd done.
Bail looked from one to the other, clearly confused.
"Master Kenobi," she said, nodding her head slowly.
"Elan," he said, the name slipping out before he remembered he should probably stick to the more formal Princess Chume.
She smiled, and it was a child's smile, quick, pleased, then gone.
"What's going on?" Bail, of course, was aghast.
"Master Kenobi was kind enough to pay for my call to Hapes last night." The princess smiled again. This time it crinkled the corners of her eyes as she looked at Obi-Wan, as though they were both in on a joke. "I'm afraid it was a larger bill than I planned, sir. I can pay you back now."
Obi-Wan shook his head faintly. "It was the Rebellion's money. Feel free to give it to Bail."
Bail gave him a furious look. Rebellion, he'd said so casually. But she already knew. He could see it in her eyes. He could sense it.
He could sense her more clearly today. She was a mild presence in the Force, nothing special. What was it Ki-Adi-Mundi had said? Something about hiding Force ability?
Gods.
Had she hidden it completely last night, and moderated it today? That took skill beyond even most Masters.
Protect her, a voice said. It rippled through the Force, unfamiliar and familiar all at once. It was the same thing he'd sensed last night, but more clearly now.
"So you've confirmed my intel?" she asked, with forced lightness. She sat down, and Bail and Obi-Wan followed.
"We have," Bail said, still nonplussed. "It is...unbelievable. How did you uncover it?"
She shrugged. "He's less careful about covering his tracks the further he gets from Coruscant."
Lie. Her lies were just a hair too casual, he realized.
She couldn't be trusted, he knew that.
Protect her, the voice said.
Obi-Wan shook his head, trying to think more clearly. "We need to be able to prove it to the others. We need to be able to use it to our advantage-find finances, unravel his plans."
Elan-the princess-whatever he was supposed to call her-pressed her lips together. "His great power is his image. That no one sees him truly. If we can unmask him, Master Kenobi, we'll strip him of that."
Truth. She was firmly with them. She wanted Palpatine undone. And she was right.
"Call me Obi-Wan," he said, meeting those pale eyes with a resolution he did not feel. "And perhaps so. But how?"
She closed her eyes briefly. "Not sure. I'll come up with something."
Truth. She was highly capable, this one. More than it made sense for a mere princess to be.
"I-" Bail suddenly reached down. His holophone was buzzing. He glanced at it. "Gods," he muttered. "It's Palpatine. He's calling an emergency session."
Elan leaned forward. "I need to meet with him," she said. "Can you arrange it?"
"I'm not your errand boy." Bail was more irritated than normal. Obi-Wan almost laughed.
She grinned suddenly, a wild, friendly thing. "Come, Senator, I know. But I also know he needs to think I'm no real threat, that I'm somewhat on his side, and you're the best connection I have to get there."
Something between lie and truth. She was planning something.
"The Jedi will want to meet with you too," Obi-Wan said.
Elan looked over at him, her smile faltering.
"I must go," Bail said distractedly. "I will see what I can do about the meeting. We must convene later," he said to Obi-Wan, "to come up with some sort of strategy." He shook his head, looking back at Elan. "You are a wild card, Princess. I'm not entirely sure what to do with you."
"No one ever does," she said archly.
Bail bowed quickly and walked out. Obi-Wan wasn't sure if he should follow. He glanced at Elan awkwardly. "I may still call you Elan, I suppose?"
She considered him a moment. "Not in public, of course. It wouldn't do for a Jedi and a Hapan to seem so friendly, Obi-Wan."
She tried out his name as though it were a different language, a bit wonderingly.
Should he ask her? What if he was wrong? What if discovery was what made her turn on someone?
Prudence would wait. Watch.
"True," he said, and smiled. She smiled back, and something, briefly, charged in the air between them. It nearly stole his breath.
"So," he said, looking briefly down at his hands. "You have a madcap plan to convince Palpatine you're on his side."
Elan shook her head. "I haven't decided, if I'm honest."
She was being honest. The only lie had been her confidence in the plan.
"I think," she continued, "that Palpatine likes to feel as though he has all the information. Knowledge is power. And if he feels he understands me, understands my reasons for being here, complex and nonsensical as they are, I'll be less of a threat. And if I'm no fan of the Jedi…"
"Ah," Obi-Wan said, "so you don't want to meet with them."
She tilted her head, looking thoughtful. "What do you think? If I'm trying to get him to let his guard down, would that help or hurt?"
She was truly asking his advice. In a sideways fashion, he felt he'd known her much longer than twenty-four hours. She was more comfortable with him than made any sense.
"It would hurt," he said. "I mean, as far as Palpatine goes. A Sith would find kinship with anyone who hates their enemies. But alienating the Jedi so early… I fear it could cause complications further on, when we may need them to support the Rebellion." He shook his head. "But a low-stakes meeting in which you are distant and cold wouldn't help much either. And you'd have to do that to preserve Palpatine's trust."
She nodded. "Very well. Then I shall make them angry." She stopped, and that wild smile played around the edges of her lips. "Although Jedi don't get angry, do they?"
She was teasing him. Teasing about the Jedi. It took him a moment to figure out why that made him pause. She has no context for the Jedi. She should have no knowledge of the Jedi. So why does she feel as though she knows us?
The Force pulsed for a moment-for a brief second, he felt alarm light up around her. "I mean," she said, too quickly, "I've heard the Jedi avoid all emotion. I suppose anger would be such a one."
Prudence.
Wait.
Protect her.
She was trying to hide.
He forced a smile. "Yes, that is in the Code, at least. We are careful to avoid anger. And careful to avoid anything that could distract us from the Light."
Her eyebrows furrowed together slightly. This was news to her, or at least something that made her curious. He found himself watching her a little too long as she considered her next words, her lashes sweeping down, a stray strand of hair curling against her cheek. Gods she's lovely. The thought came unbidden, and he felt the blood pound through his veins more rapidly. He focused on his breathing.
"What distracts a Jedi?" she asked finally, her eyes meeting his.
Breathe.
"Attachment," he said evenly. "We are brought to the Temple very young. We do not know our families of birth. We are careful in our relationships."
Her eyes widened. "No family?" She shook her head. "No-what about friendships? All relationships are complicated, after all. Surely it's not possible to eliminate emotion simply by staying away from others."
Obi-Wan felt the word Anakin on his tongue, but it felt unwise. You do not know her, he reminded himself.
And yet.
"No, I don't think it's possible, not for all," he said slowly. "Some seem to be able to guard themselves, to remain resolute. Truthfully, that is not my strength. I have friends, and I do-I cannot eliminate all feeling in that. I get frustrated. I worry. Sometimes I think I even get angry."
He expected her to laugh, as the lines around her eyes squeezed upward into a smile. But the look she gave him was warm, kind, a bit thoughtful. "You are not what I expected," she said, and he wondered what she meant. Not what she expected from a Jedi? And yet her words felt more personal than that, more about him than about the Jedi as a whole. But what would she have expected about him?
"And what should we expect of you?" he asked her. Because that was the question, wasn't it? What role did she really want to play? Or want them to think she would play?
She flattened her palms against the chair. "If I'm honest?" she said, her voice thoughtful. "I want to be useful, but I feel I am groping forward in the dark here. I don't know if I can do what I want to do." She paused. What do you want to do? He held back the words, letting her decision hang in the air.
"I," she said at last, slowly, "am convinced that we are on the brink. That there are...a few key people who have to make the right choices in order for us to have a chance of stopping Palpatine."
Obi-Wan furrowed his brow. "I don't understand," he said, the words slipping out before he could think them through. He didn't understand. Whose choices could truly impact Palpatine now? The Rebellion was already doing everything it could think of.
She met his eyes, and the air between them was thick with the question. "Now is not the time," she murmured, almost to herself. "Not yet."
Protect her, the voice said, more urgently.
Who are you? Obi-Wan wondered, and he wasn't sure if he meant her or the voice.