Chapter 21: Departure

Obi-Wan didn't feel the exhaustion set in until he was walking toward his ship, the guard at his side. It hit him like a wave of nausea and pain and his knees nearly gave out on him, the sheer force of his will the only thing keeping him moving toward the ship. Lightning still flashed in the sky, growing from an inky black to a darker blue as the sun began to rise behind the storm clouds. As they got closer to the ship, Kenobi's stride lengthened, his desire to get to the Sith-free safety of his ship completely overpowering. He also needed to check on Quinlan, who he had forgotten in his desperation to stay on the Sith Lord's trail.

"Stay here," was the swift, terse command to the guard, and the man froze in his spot as Kenobi started up the ship's ramp.

"When will you return, Master?" the guard cried after him, voice tense and desperate, and Obi-Wan turned on him, the Mandalorian helmet hiding his irritation.

"You will forget about me." He watched the man tense for a moment before his entire body relaxed and, gripping his weapon, he marched down the flight deck. With a sigh, the Jedi entered the ship, hand slamming on the interior console to withdraw the landing ramp, and the doors hissed closed, the mechanics sliding and clicking together as the door sealed. He quickly dropped into the pilot's seat and powered the ship on, swift fingers setting the coordinates, and without a moment's hesitation, he lifted the ship off the ground, engines roaring as it quickly accelerated into the atmosphere.

Obi-Wan stayed in the pilot's chair until Dromund Kaas was a tiny, blue orb behind him, and he hit the nearby hyperspace route, double checking to make sure the ship was on the right corse for Ziost before he left the cockpit, the blue and white of hyperspace filling the viewport. He could barely walk down the halls and had to lean against the wall for support more than once, and every step he took made the hallway seem longer and longer. It felt like it took hours, but he finally laid his hand on the control panel, and Quinlan's door slid open.

Obi-Wan poked his head into the room, and the Kiffar Master was still in bed, but not where Kenobi had put him. He was sprawled out, one arm against the wall, one leg over the side of the bed, and his other foot resting on the pillow that his head was on when Kenobi left him there, the bed's covers somehow thrown halfway across the room. He took deep, even, open-mouthed breaths, and all the color had returned to his face.

"Quinlan."

There was no response.

"Quinlan!"

The Jedi Master's face twitched slightly, one arm wrapping around the headboard as if he were grabbing his pillow, and he laid still. Obi-Wan sighed and shut the door, shuffling his feet to his own room. If Quinlan could manage to make a mess of the fairly simple task of sleeping, than the Kiffar was clearly fine.

He stumbled into his own room and nearly collapsed, dropping the helmet and, with fumbling fingers, pulled the heavy boots off his feet, holding onto the wall for support. He couldn't get out of the armor fast enough but his coordination was not cooperating, grasping at straps and ties and grabbing the air instead, missing completely. It was with great frustration that he finally managed to undo the armor and strip out of the rest of the Mandalorian clothing, and by the end of the arduous process, his focus had been so intense that he had woken up, the oppressive fatigue gone, but his mind still swimming.

Kenobi managed to turn the hot water on and stumble into the shower, the water heating up to scalding quickly, filling the room with thick steam, but the Jedi didn't care. He had been so cold for so long that the desire to burn the chill out of him overcame the pain of near-boiling water. It did not take him long to acclimate to the heat, the rush of water relaxing the tension in his muscles, and he was resolved to stay there until the water ran cold. Quinlan would undoubtedly be angry, but Kenobi didn't care; Master Vos owed him for the night before.

Every time he closed his eyes, his visions from the Temple came flooding back to him, disjointed and ominous and he could feel panic grip him as the images flashed through his mind. What was worse, he couldn't place what they were. It could have been anything. The Sith spirit took so many memories from him, it was possible that Obi-Wan was seeing the memories of the ghost that touched him, visions of the past wars between the Sith and the Jedi. Something about it didn't seem right, though, and the more Kenobi thought about it, the images replaying over and over again in his mind, the less he believed this was a memory of the past. This was a vision of the future.

The second Obi-Wan thought it, he knew it to be true. He ran through the vision again, over and over, and the more he tried to puzzle it out, the less it made sense. The hot water running over him was suddenly much less comforting than it was before. With a groan, he shut the water off, rubbing his aching shoulders as he got out and dried himself off, slowly easing back into his robes, smiling softly as the soft, smooth material covered him. He hadn't realized how much he missed them.

His hand was shaking as he ran it through his wet hair. The weariness he had felt before was beginning to settle over him again, but he fought it off; he still had much to do, and in the light of all that had happened, he needed to contact the Council, as much as he was reluctant to do so. The frowning countenance of Mace Windu's displeasure with him might have been more than Kenobi could handle. Visions of Sith Lords, drunken nights of shameless sex, breaking the Jedi Code, and Dark Side ghosts were one thing; the rebuke he was certain to get from the Jedi High Council was another matter entirely.

He checked the mirror to make sure he was presentable, and he looked...weary. Haunted, like he had been away far longer than he had been. There were dark circles under his eyes, making his entire face seem sunken and pale, and Kenobi sighed, running a hand over his eyes. There was nothing to be done about it. He needed to rest, but knew he couldn't with the vision running through his mind. He needed the Council's help to calm his mind, because he wasn't getting any relief on his own.

Obi-Wan checked on Vos on his way to the cockpit, and the Master had rearranged himself again, still on the bed, but just barely, and the entire room seemed to be a bigger mess than before. His breathing was deep and even, and even in his sleep, the Kiffar seemed carefree and easy and so relaxed, and Kenobi couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy. His own sleep was often restless and uneasy, the tension and strain he carried in his waking hours often seeping into his nights. Maybe Quinlan was right. Maybe he was too uptight. Regardless, Vos was fine. He shut the door and walked slowly to the cockpit.

He slid into the pilot's chair, a light flashing on the control console, and Kenobi groaned loudly. It was the com channel. He hadn't noticed it before in his rush to leave the planet, but it was blinking incessantly, indicating that someone had tried to contact him, and the list of people that could reach him on that ship was very, very short. With a groan, he opened the con channel, sitting back and covering his face as the call was patched through to the Council.

When the hologram of Mace Windu flickered into being, Obi-Wan nearly cut the call completely. The Master's arms were crossed, his face stern and unforgiving, and he was silent, his displeasure across all that distance completely tangible, so much so that Obi-Wan thought he could feel it in the Force.

"Before we begin," Kenobi ventured meekly, "I would like to remind the great and mighty Council that a major part of the very foundations of the Jedi Order is forgiveness."

He could hear the low, raspy chuckle of Master Yoda in the background, and Windu's eyes narrowed. He was irritated before. Now he seemed almost angry. "Where are you, Kenobi."

"...Sith Space..."

"We told you to come back to Coruscant!" Mace said sharply, his mild irritation snapping into unconcealed frustration with the Knight. "This was a direct order! You are not to disobey the Council!"

"Why is it that you always seemed to go easier on Qui-Gon when he went against the Council's wishes?"

"Qui-Gon Jinn is a Jedi Master. We can trust him to make his own decisions."

"And you can't trust me? Why would you knight me if you doubted my ability to think for myself?!"

"Perhaps we did so prematurely. Even you thought you weren't ready."

Obi-Wan's eyes narrowed dangerously as he felt rage build up inside him, and suddenly the hologram disappeared. The shock knocked him out of his indignation, and he looked down and saw his hand on the com channel, the button pressed down firmly. He had cut the channel. Kenobi just stared at his hand for a long while, chest tight with anger and anxiety. He leaned back and covered his face, ignoring the com as it beeped, the Council trying to reestablish connection with their rogue Jedi. They were going to kill him, and he hadn't even meant to cut the channel, it just sort of...happened.

All he could hear was the words of the Sith spirit echo in his mind.

Did your Order do you wrong, young one? Did they send a child to hunt the Sith when the task required a Master?

The spirit had been right. The Order wronged him. They knighted him when he was not ready, sent him on a mission to hunt the Sith, put him in the direct path of dark powers he could not resist or control, and now, they condemned him for it, made the fault his when the Council had made all the decisions. Kenobi felt anger seeping into him again, and it was quickly becoming disdain for the Council that wronged him.

When the com beeped again, the indicator light flashing, Obi-Wan took a deep breath and answered the call, prepared to go to battle with the fearsome Mace Windu, but was met with the concerned face of Master Yoda, the kindness and understanding in his eyes visible even over the hologram. The young Jedi felt his chest tighten with nervous, anxious energy, and the anger left him, leaving him feeling guilty. Mace Windu was fearsome, aggressive, and had little patience for disobedience, which made him the ideal mission coordinator, but he wasn't the only Jedi on the Council.

"Master Yoda, I..." He stopped, biting his lip. "Masters, I apologize. I didn't mean to cut the channel I just..."

"Obi-Wan. Troubled, you are." It wasn't a question. Yoda knew. He always knew.

"...yes, Master." Yoda didn't say anything. He just gripped his stick, ears angled forward and ready to listen. Kenobi took a deep breath to calm himself. "Quinlan and I were getting frustrated. Finding nothing for all that time seemed suspicious, like we were being toyed with. We had to keep going, we had to find something."

"What of Aeten II?"

Kenobi shook his head. "We got flashes of information before, but we wanted something stronger. We knew we would have to go to Dathomir at some point, but since we were in Sith Space, we thought it would be a waste of time to not explore the other planets in the sector."

Mace came into frame. "And we told you-"

Yoda held up his hand, and Mace stopped, glaring at Kenobi for a second before he disappeared from the frame again. "Impatient, Mace is. Unsettled about what has happened, the Council is. To end the threat of the Sith now, he wants, but time, it will take."

"...I understand."

"Continue," the Master said softly, and Obi-Wan felt his anxiety ease.

"I was...bothered. Everything I have read about the Sith Empire placed the capital on Dromund Kaas, but our records say it doesn't exist."

"A legend, the planet it."

"We found it."

The little Master said nothing, but his eyes widened in shock, his ears perking up as he just stared at the Knight, and, very slowly, Obi-Wan could see the other Council members creep into view. "Sure, you are?" Yoda managed to rasp softly, and Kenobi nodded.

"Quinlan and I spent two days on the planet. There's a Sith Academy out there, not operational, but we found a way inside, and Quinlan sensed that the Sith Lord and his new apprentice had been there very recently."

Obi-Wan could hear one of the Masters mumble "Oh, kriffing hell," as the other Jedi faded from view, moving back to their seats in dull shock. "More have you to say, Obi-Wan." Again, this wasn't a question.

"Yes, we managed to get the name of the Sith apprentice, a man called Tyranus, and there was a databank in the Academy a lot like our own Archive. I took it apart and retrieved the datablock."

Again, they were silent, and again, Mace Windu came into frame, all irritation gone and he looked almost impressed. "Satisfied, are you, Mace?"

"Is it useable?" Windu asked quickly.

"Yes, I can read it, but it's all in Sith. I didn't have time to look at much, but the Sith Lords have been very busy." Kenobi tapped a few buttons on the console, swiping his fingers across the screen as he retrieved what he needed. "I'm sending you a partial list of what they were looking at in the Archive. Maybe you can find more sense in it than I could, but to me, it seems that many of these planets are connected by the Trade Federation."

Mace crossed his arms, looking at the data as it appeared on his end, and nodded stiffly. "You may be right. Viceroy Nute Gunray is in Republic custody and awaiting trials. We'll question him. We'll also start trying to find out about this Tyranus."

"I think that would be wise. It's not much to go on, I know, but a name is better than nothing."

"I apologize for my previous outburst, Obi-Wan," Mace said firmly, face sincere. "You were right to follow your instincts. Do you have a plan?"

Obi-Wan sat back, bringing up the list the Sith had searched and a map of the galaxy, stroking his beard as he studied. "I think I need to get to Dathomir and consult with Talzin. She might have some insight I can use." Mace frowned. "And before you say anything, Master Windu, no, I don't trust her, but yes, I do think she can be helpful, especially when it concerns the artifact we found on Athiss. After that...I don't know."

"What about Aeten II?"

Kenobi shook his head. "I didn't see what Quinlan did, but now Aeten II makes no sense. There were other worlds he thought his vision could have been on, and given our new information, we can narrow our search to Eos and Mustafar."

Windu nodded. "After that?"

Obi-Wan crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't know. I want to go to some of the planets on this list and see if Quinlan and I can find something. But all that's going to depend on what we find first. Plans aren't working much on this trip."

That settled the matter, and the Master nodded. "Contact us when you have more information or if things change."

"I will."

Mace disappeared from the image, but Yoda remained, eyes squinting and ears low, a small frown on his wrinkled features. "More to say, have you?" This time, it was a question, and Obi-Wan held his breath. He was hoping that was it, but not much got past Master Yoda.

"I...y-yes, but..." The Master was silent, waiting for the Jedi to continue. "...I would speak to you alone about it."

Yoda nodded. "Contact you soon, I will." And the feed was cut, leaving Kenobi alone with his research. He groaned softly and turned off the holographic map, leaning back and rubbing his weary eyes. He had no idea what he was going to tell the tiny Master, but he had to say something. The visions were eating away at him, and he knew he would get no rest at all if he had to sit with them.

"Did I just hear Master Mace Windu? Sounding pleased?" Kenobi's blue eyes shot to Quinlan as he shuffled into the cockpit and threw himself into the copilot's seat, legs dangling over one of the chair's arms.

"I think so, yes."

"Damn, what did you do?" Quinlan smirked, eying his friend. "Was he picturing you naked? I bet you he was."

"Quinlan Vos, Master Mace Windu never has been, and never will be, you."

"...oh yeah, that's right."

"You look better."

"I feel better," he yawned, stretching as he looked Obi-Wan over. "You...don't look better at all." He sat up, leaned in close to the other Jedi. "Damn, Obi-Wan, look at you! You look...haunted. What happened!"

Kenobi was just about to answer when the com buzzed, and he looked apologetically at Quinlan, muttering a quick apology as he answered. Yoda's holographic image flickered to life, and the little Master smiled softly. "Quinlan Vos, good to see you, it is."

"And you as well, Master Yoda. Unlike you to be making personal calls..."

"I asked him to," Obi-Wan mumbled. "Master Yoda, I had a vision."

"A dream, you had?"

"No, a vision. I..." Obi-Wan huffed, crossing his arms and looking at his feet. "I went to explore the Sith Temples."

"The Temples?" Quinlan asked softly. "We went to the Academy, we didn't-"

"You didn't."

The Kiffar just stared at the other Jedi, jaw slack, and then his eyes narrowed. "You ass, you went to the Temples alone? How stupid are you!"

"You weren't well, Quin, you needed to rest!"

"Then you shouldn't have gone!"

"Right, Quinlan is," Yoda said softly, nodding and watching the young Jedi. "Dangerous, your actions were."

"I know, Master, I just..." He sighed, his hand tightly gripping the edge of his robe. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"Better not..." Quinlan muttered, leaning back in the seat, arms crossed and not happy.

"I had the vision in the Temple. I saw...I don't know. War. Armies, hundreds of thousands of soldiers, and they were led by Jedi. And there were Sith, four of them, and a face in fire I couldn't see."

Yoda frowned, was silent for a moment. "See for myself, I must," he said after a while, looking Kenobi in the eyes. "When you return, see you, I will."

"Yes, Master..." He felt...uneasy. Master Yoda was the most powerful Force wielder alive, and connecting with the Master directly meant that it was very likely that the Master would see what was lurking within the young Jedi. He needed to think of a way to avoid that.

"How did you have this vision?" Quinlan asked, a long finger tracing the tattoo on his face, and the little Master nodded.

"A wise question. About to ask the same, I was."

Obi-Wan instantly regretted this entire conversation. "Sith ghosts," he said softly, his ears burning in embarrassment, saying it out loud making him realize how stupid it all sounded. He questioned for a moment of it was all a dream, fueled by exhaustion, alcohol and sex chemicals, but he could still feel the pain, could still feel those spectral, skeletal hands reaching into his mind and tearing through it.

Quinlan clearly felt similarly about how stupid it sounded, repeating "Sith ghosts," in a deadpan drawl, regarding his friend as though he had truly, finally lost his mind. But Yoda looked concerned and shook his head.

"Exist after death, a Sith cannot."

"I'm telling you, I saw it! I felt it!" Kenobi was yelling. He didn't mean to, but he suddenly found himself frantic. He felt violated, and he needed the Jedi to understand, or he endured it for nothing. "I can still feel it, Master. It reached inside my head and learned everything about me. I didn't want it to, I tried to fight, but I couldn't!" He didn't realize how badly he was shaking, how tight his chest was, until tears dripped on to his hands.

"Hey, Obi..." Quinlan laid a hand on the younger Jedi's shoulder, but Obi-Wan waived him away.

"I'm fine."

"Fine, you are not," the little voice rasped, and the Master looked at him intently. "Meditate on this, you must. Strong, you must be, if the Sith you will face. Strong, is the Dark Side. Stronger, are you."

Obi-Wan didn't say anything. He just bowed his head, eyes shut tightly against the tears and trying unsuccessfully to stop himself from shaking.

"Misled by the Dark Side, your vision may be. Discern the truth of it, you must."

"Yes, Master..."

"Quinlan Vos." The Kiffar's eyes snapped away from Kenobi to look at the hologram. "Watch after Obi-Wan, you must. If worse, he becomes-"

"He won't, Master. Obi-Wan's strong, he'll be much better after some rest."

"To Dathomir, you are headed?"

Obi-Wan nodded sullenly. "Yes, Master..."

"Meet you there, I will. Wait, this cannot. Meet with Talzin, you will, and then for me, you will wait."

"Do you want us to wait for you?" Quinlan asked, looking at his suffering friend and very worried, but the Master shook his head.

"Perhaps not trust, but familiarity, Obi-Wan has with her. Disrupt this, I will not."

"I'll watch after him, Master Yoda, you don't need to worry."

"Know this, I do." The Master smiled softly, regarding the two Jedi. "May the Force be with you." The hologram cut, and Quinlan jumped up, grabbing Obi-Wan by the robe and pulling him to his feet.

"Come here, idiot," he growled, throwing Kenobi's arm over his shoulder and walking him toward his room. "We need to get you to bed, you look like you crawled out of a grave."

"I did, the Temple was a tomb..."

"Oh, shut up..." He punched the code to open Kenobi's room and dropped him on to the bed, pulling the sheets back and pushing the Jedi onto his back. "I can't believe you went without me."

"I'm sorry, I just..." His head was swimming. He couldn't think. "I don't know what came over me, I just...I had to go..."

Quinlan scoffed. "Maybe your ghosts called for you through the Force."

"Maybe..."

"No, stupid, that's not how that works! You can't go alone, Kenobi!"

"And why not?" Obi-Wan snarled, propping himself up on to his elbows. "You're out on missions by yourself all the time, why can't I go alone!"

"Because we're a team, Obi-Wan! I don't get a team on my missions! I get me and a bunch of people that, if they knew I was a Jedi, they would kill me, have sex with my body and then sell it to the Hutts! Please, just...no more of this, alright?" Quinlan smiled softly, looking down at his feet to avoid the big, blue, emotional eyes of Kenobi. "We're all we have out here. I don't want to lose you."

Kenobi bit his lip and nodded as he slid under the covers and laid facing the wall, tense and shaking as he tried to repress his feelings and the flashes of the vision so he could sleep. He felt the bed sink down with extra weight before he felt one of the Kiffar's strong arms slide under him, the other wrapping over the Jedi and pulling him in close against his chest. Obi-Wan tensed up, but only for a second, and then he relaxed, sinking against the other Jedi.

"...hey, Obi-Wan?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you going to seduce Master Yoda?"

He looked over his shoulder, eyebrow raised. He wasn't even surprised anymore. "No, Quinlan, I'm not."

"Oh. Well, you did say you'd rather seduce him than go to bed with me and, well..." The Kiffar Master grinned slowly, winking lazily at the other man. "It seems to me like you've ended up in bed with me."

Kenobi couldn't keep himself from grinning widely, and the Jedi laughed himself into a restful sleep.