From Darkness, I Rise

by Kurenaino

The Jedi are thrust into a war that threatens to tear the galaxy apart, and prospects are bleak when the fearsome Sith Negotiator begins to win key victories against the Republic. Sequel to From Grace, I Fall. Also, more Sith!Obi keeps the sadness away. Search your feelings. You know it to be true.

31. The Jedi Council

Chapter 31: The Jedi Council

For the first time in a very long time, the Jedi beacon had been activated, signaling for all the Jedi spread across the galaxy to return home to Coruscant. For as many Jedi as there were, the Temple had always seemed spacious and serene, but now, with all the Jedi home from their missions and the war, every hallway was crawling, every room filled with those that wanted to learn from those who had acquired new skills on their missions or catch up with old friends they hadn't seen in a long while. For the Masters, there was the vastly important matter of voting in new Jedi to sit on the High Council. Qui-Gon and Quinlan had both stopped by very, very quickly to cast their votes for Luminara, and then they were off to find said Mirialan and accost her with the details of their amazingly disastrous victory on Christophsis, dragging the hapless woman and her smiling Padawan back to Quinlan's room so they could sit beside Ahsoka as she recovered in her Master's bed.

"He did what," Luminara asked, deadpan, staring at her Jedi companions, and when none of them answered, she just sighed heavily. The day was going to be a long one. "Every time I hear about Obi-Wan, he becomes more and more..."

"...impressive?" Quinlan offered, and the other two Masters shot him a silencing glare.

"I was going to say bombastic. He certainly seems to have acquired a flare for the theatrical. That's changed, at least."

"Nah, he picked that up from me," Quinlan said in a matter-of-fact tone that made Luminara cringe. "And don't look like that, Luminara. Every time I talk, you look like that, and if you're not careful, your face is going to freeze that way."

Barriss giggled from the other side of the room, and her Master looked at the girl with piercing blue eyes, but the girl wasn't paying attention, nor was she listening to the Masters. She was engaged in conversation with Anakin, the two sitting close and whispering, and the Mirialan Master frowned. She's have to remind her Padawan of the dangers of affection. "Did you get the Council's directive for our stay on Coruscant?" she asked quietly, and Qui-Gon nodded.

"They asked me to teach the Knights about combating the Dark Side." He shook his head. "I'm unqualified for this, I've fought the Sith three times now, and three times, I have lost."

"You're alive, aren't you?" Quinlan drawled, his Padawan's head in his lap as he gently stroked her forehead. "That sounds like a victory to me."

"And you know Obi-Wan."

"I knew him," the Master growled, his hand clutching tightly around his lightsaber. "My Obi-Wan is gone."

"I disagree." The Kiffar's eyes were closed, his face unusually serious for the light-hearted man, the thin burn on the side of his face very noticeable against his tanned skin. "He's Obi-Wan, all of him. The reserve and control is gone, yes, but he's what I remember." He laughed, his voice straining against emotion, and Luminara couldn't help but feel he was doing so to hide how hurt he was. "When you go to educate the Knights on the Sith, Quinlan, you tell them about Dooku, and you tell them about Obi-Wan. Everything you know about them. They need to know their enemy, and you know them both."

"You think the Dark Side didn't change him?" Luminara asked softly, and Quinlan shook his head.

"Well, sure, it's made him unrestrained. But if he wasn't angry, if he wasn't passionate, than the Dark Side would have nothing to grab on to." The Kiffar closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "He was always very passionate. He cared so much about so many things, so many people! It's what made him great. But he felt deeply. Maybe too deeply, but I'm hardly one to say anything about that."

"You've always been close to the dark, Quinlan," Luminara said, and the man nodded.

"Too close, some would say. Sometimes I agree. And Obi-Wan used that against me. I felt..." He grit his teeth, running a hand through his thick hair. "I felt the pull of the Dark Side when I fought him, and he used that to get in my mind. A Jedi with any inclination toward the Dark Side has already lost against him."

The Masters were silent for a moment, Qui-Gon and Luminara processing what the Kiffar had said, and Quinlan quietly tending to his Padawan. "He's controlled both Anakin and Ahsoka," Qui-Gon said, his face worried. "Do they-"

"No," Quinlan quickly dismissed. "They are Padawans, prone to arrogance and anger, and neither have the experience to shield against a Sith. They must be taught."

"Which is part of the reason we were all brought back," Luminara said. "You were injured, but he didn't kill you. Why?"

"He didn't want to."

"But why."

"Because he loves me..." he purred, leaning in toward Luminara, eyelids lowered and slowly licking his lips. Luminara didn't move. She didn't even react. With a sigh, he drew away from her. She killed everything fun, always. "Killing me wasn't even an option for him. He adjusted his saber to make it non-lethal, just...unbelievably painful." His fingers grazed across his chest where a long, deep scar was burned into him. "He tried to...get me to join him." They were silent for a long while after that, and the only thing that could be heard was Ahsoka's shallow, even breathing and Anakin and Barriss whispering and giggling.

"Could his plan," Luminara whispered, "be tempting Jedi to the Sith?"

"It would explain why he hasn't tried to kill anyone."

"Yet." Qui-Gon sighed, his hand running through his long hair as he thought. "Master Yoda sensed murder in him, and I think it's a poor choice to ignore that. He will kill Jedi. It's only a matter of time."

"All we can do is share what we know about him," the Kiffar drawled. "We've all been asked to teach, and we will. Arming the other Jedi with knowledge may save them long enough to get away, or wait for reenforcements. That's the best we can do."

Luminara nodded. "It's...wise to have recalled the Jedi. The Masters must know something we do not."

Quinlan scoffed, drawing an irritated look from Luminara. "Yeah, all eight of them."

"Seven," Luminara quietly corrected, and the Kiffar groaned.

"Sith Hells, did another one of them die?"

"No, Depa Billaba resigned," the Mirialan said softly. "She wanted to give her full attention to the war effort. I don't think it effected her decision, but her sister was among the first victims of the Sith. She wants to see this through."

Quinlan groaned. "Great, so five more prissy idiots to join the Council..."

"Quinlan!"

"I mean it! It's great that the old Masters are all wise and all, but we're in a war and fighting the kriffing Sith. And Kenobi is a seductive son of a bitch, don't think he will be the last Jedi to fall to the Dark Side."

"They have wisdom, Quinlan, that's what we need..."

"No, we need Jedi that know the threat! This wouldn't have been a problem if those idiots had listened to Obi-Wan in the first place!" He snarled, dark eyes narrowed in anger, and he found the Mirialan and the human silent. Even the Padawans were listening. "We could have taken out Dooku, so no idiot Clone War! Obi-Wan could have sniffed out the Sith Master with the right support! He could have been on the Jedi Council by now if they weren't a bunch of morons and just listened!" Nobody said a word, and having gotten it off his chest, the Kiffar's anger fled, lost to the Force. With a heavy sigh, he quietly said, "We don't need a bunch of wise, imperious idiots on the Council. We need people that will challenge everything, question everything, until all angles have been observed."

"...maybe you're right," Luminara said softly, clutching her robes tightly in her hands. "Maybe that's what we need. The Sith have changed. The Jedi must as well."

Quinlan nodded and held out his hand to Qui-Gon. "Give me your lightsaber."

"...why."

He took a deep breath. "Because Luminara is right, we need to change things. We need to do things differently and consider avenues we haven't taken before." He pointed to the weapon clutched in Qui-Gon's hand. "That saber is the weapon that killed Maul. It's the weapon that he took with him on his first trip to Dathomir with Luminara. It's the weapon he used during our time in Sith Space, and during the rest of our extended mission. And that blade was on him when he fell." Quinlan grinned, but there was something serious and determined in his dark brown eyes. He put Ahsoka's head on the pillow and stood, hand out to the Master. "I can see it all. Give it to me."

"This isn't what I meant!" Luminara cried, not waiting for Qui-Gon to respond. "You know how dangerous that is! You said you felt the Dark Side's pull on Christophsis, don't willingly invite it to you now!"

"I'm not going to fall to the Dark Side, Luminara! That's why you two are here, you won't let anything happen to me!"

Luminara clenched her jaw tightly and was about to protest when Anakin softly said from his spot across the room, "He's right, Master. The more we know, the more we understand, the easier we can beat him, or resist him, or whatever."

"No, no," Luminara insisted. "It will only cover up to the point when he disappeared, we will learn nothing of his Sith training! I know you don't think he's changed, but he has! Six years as a Sith Apprentice will do that, and we have access to none of the information. It isn't worth it."

"Qui-Gon," the Kiffar said softly, his hand extended. "Please."

"Don't," the Mirialan said swiftly, stepping between them. "Not until we consult Master Yoda on the matter."

Master Jinn didn't know he was holding his breath until his lungs starting to burn. Breathing deeply, he looked at the weapon in his hands, torn on if this knowledge was even worth it. Yoda had said Obi-Wan's past didn't matter, but maybe-

The door slid open with a hiss, and Master Shaak Ti stood in the doorway, bowing deeply to the Masters, and all of them turned to bow in return. "How is your Padawan, Master Vos?" the Togruta asked softly, and the Kiffar took a deep breath, calming his racing heart.

"Master Yoda says she will make a full recovery. She just needs to rest, there wasn't much time on Christophsis."

She nodded. "I hear she was instrumental to the battle."

Quinlan beamed. "She was brilliant, yes. Better than I could have even hoped for. She even aided Skywalker in taking down a shield generator on the final day of battle." The grinning Master looked back to Anakin, who shrugged.

"It was mostly her, Master. I just happened to be there."

Shaak Ti smiled gently when she felt the tension in the Force slowly fade. "The High Council requests your presence, Masters." The tension, expectedly, returned. "All of you."

---

Master Yoda stood with the other Jedi of the Council talking quietly amongst themselves while Quinlan, Luminara and Qui-Gon entered, drawing the attention of Kit Fisto, a Nautolan Jedi Master of high esteem and fearsome lightsaber skills, and Adi Gallia, a Tholothian Master who was widely regarded as highly knowledgeable and highly aggressive. They smiled when the three entered, but the other Masters only silently inclined their heads. They wanted to be back to watch over Ahsoka, a task that Barriss and Anakin happily took, and none of them exactly wanted to be there, the three eager to begin teaching the others so they could bring a swift end to the war.

After what they considered to be a long, uncomfortable silence, the Council sat, looking at the five Jedi Masters standing before them. Master Windu sighed and pointed to the Kiffar. "You look like hell," he drawled, eying the long scar that ran down the length of his face. "Trouble with the Sith?"

Quinlan shrugged, smirking with a good-natured ease. "Hardly. My lover isn't so gentle with me anymore."

The other Jedi chuckled softly, the tension in the room easing. "It's been a difficult few years, Masters," Mace Windu sighed, a faint smile on his lips. "We've lost so much, and we can't continue on without the Council at its full strength." He took a deep breath, pressing his hands together and measuring his words carefully. "Once, ten years ago, a Jedi Knight came to us and told us the Sith had changed. We didn't listen then, but now, it seems we have no choice but to change as well. Your fellow Jedi have voted on their Council, and they overwhelmingly chose you five."

Kit and Adi smiled modestly, bowing deeply and quietly muttered their thanks and acceptance and gratitude. Luminara followed suit. And than Quinlan Vos and Qui-Gon Jinn started laughing. Loudly. The Council looked at them completely appalled, mouths hanging open and eyes wide, and Luminara just shook her head and turned away from them, a deep flush on her green skin. In times like these, it was best to pretend to simply not know those particular Jedi.

"This is a joke, right?" Qui-Gon asked between helpless laughter.

"It has to be!" the Kiffar responded, devolving again into another bout of laughter. "This is like voting for the ugliest girl in the city to be the Beauty of Coruscant!"

"I come in here and fight with you weekly!"

"This is like the time I told a fellow youngling that he would become a Padawan immediately if he could deflect a blaster bolt and hit the Master teaching us!"

"Hey, do you remember the time that my Padawan fell to the Dark Side and helped start a galactic war?"

"Oh, oh, this is just like how you tell your boyfriend you're pregnant so he doesn't leave you for that dumb slut Secura!"

The two Masters continued their outrageous laughter, the other Council members just shaking their heads. Eventually, when Quinlan and Qui-Gon realized that nobody was laughing with them, their faces slowly dropped, the laughter dying and a deep flush coming to their cheeks. "Oh..." Qui-Gon said softly, swallowing a lump in his throat. "You're serious..."

When Quinlan had nothing to say, just stared at the Masters dumbfounded, Yoda indicated at the five empty seats at the end, and Master Vos rushed to choose the seat on the end so he didn't need to face Master Yoda and Mster Windu, the first because he felt he was a constant disappointment to the tiny Master, the other because he couldn't stand to look at another of Mace' withering gazes. Instead, he sat opposite the much kinder Kai-Adi-Mundi and Saesee Tiin, a hand on the seat next to him to reserve it for Qui-Gon, the elder Master slowly taking the seat, his blue eyes distant as if he could not believe what was happening.

When the newly appointed Council was seated, they began discussing the training of the Jedi against the Sith, a subject that Luminara had a great deal to say about, but Quinlan wasn't listening. He knew all this, and more, and he was profoundly uninterested in anything else but the feel of the chair he sat in. With all eyes on the Mirialan, he leaned over and poked Qui-Gon in the ribs. "This is some kind of bantha shit, isn't it."

"It's certainly...unusual, yes," the Master whispered, a small smile on his lips. "Obi-Wan always wanted this for me."

"I know. He was always so frustrated that you weren't doing what was required of you to earn your seat." Quinlan grinned. "He's going to be so mad when he finds out!"

"I imagine he will be, yes. By the way," he drawled, leaning in towards the Kiffar and sending a sideward glance at the other Masters while they debated, grabbing Quinlan's hand and putting his lightsaber into it. "I agree with you." For the second time that day, Master Vos looked completely dumbfounded. "If we're going to teach others about how to avoid the Dark Side, than we need to know how Obi-Wan fell. We need to know exactly what happened."

"Yeah, things aren't the same as before. That sexy former Padawan of yours is changing the rules on us." Despite the serious nature of the conversation, there was a faint smile on Qui-Gon's lips, and for the first time in a while, Quinlan thought the old Master looked alive. "I don't know if we can bring him back to us, Jinn. You don't see it like I do since, you know, he hates you and all you stand for, but I saw him when he was relaxed. There wasn't any anger in him, no fear, none of the idiot things that they warn us about. But there was the Dark Side, and he was loving it."

"Maybe...he was always meant for this. Maybe this is just the will of the Force. We Jedi believe that the Force is always trying to maintain balance, but there can't be balance if there isn't darkness as well as light."

"...can the Jedi and Sith coexist?"

"Well, they certainly haven't been able to in the past," Qui-Gon drawled. "I doubt it's possible, but...maybe true balance can be achieved. If Obi-Wan..." Qui-Gon shivered and swallowed hard, the words in his mouth coming to him not without pain. "If Obi-Wan were Lord of the Sith...well, he's not exactly typical, is he?"

"Do you think," Quinlan said slowly, smoothly, "that an...agreement could be reached between us? Do you think Obi-Wan would accept our help to kill his Master if it meant he would rule in his place?"

"...that may be something to seriously consider. He does know who the current Sith Master is."

"Master Jinn," Mace drawled, his dark eyes bored and his head leaning on his hand as he stared at the new Council members. "Master Vos. You two have been very secretive. Do you have anything you want to say?"

Before the older Master could reply with something reasonable and well-measured, Quinlan Vos, Jedi extraordinaire, cut in with, "As a matter of fact, yes. We think we should make an alliance with the Sith." The anticipated reaction was chaos, and they weren't disappointed. Quinlan simply crossed his legs and smirked with amusement, watching gleefully as the Council became undone over an admittedly bad idea. However, it was so bad, it could possibly be successful. After all, they had nothing to lose except for Jedi, and they were going to lose Jedi anyway. It may as well have been in the attempt of attacking the problem at the source.

They were arguing so heatedly that the Council barely noticed when the door swung open, but when Jedi Master Eeth Koth staggered into the room, leaning on two clones for support, the entire room fell silent, the Masters standing frozen in their place as if they were too afraid to move. Even Yoda was still, his eyes wide, his ears drawn back as he observed the lost Zabrak. Like Kenobi, he had been assumed dead, but unlike the fallen Jedi, they had a holorecording of Koth's entire Jedi team being killed by the cyborg Grievous. The recording ended before Koth's death was confirmed, but it was a fair assumption, as Master Yoda couldn't sense the Zabrak in the Force after the incident.

Taking ragged breaths, the Zabrak stood as tall as he could and said in a shaky voice, "I heard the beacon. Am I late?"

All the Jedi rushed to him, but it was Saesee Tiin and Plo Koon that put him in a seat and quickly set to caring for him, the Kel Dor Master laying his hand upon the Zabrak's chest and willing the Force to run through him, Master Koth gasping as his wounds were slowly healed. With the Jedi in hand, Mace turned to the clones. "I thank you for your help, gentlemen. Where did you find him?"

The clones saluted. "General, I'm CT-3423, and this is CT-2242, 91st Reconnaissance Corps. We were tasked with scouting Separatist worlds in preparation for battle. We found the Jedi on Clak-dor VII, the Bith home world."

Windu nodded. "You have our thanks, soldiers." The clones saluted and turned from the chamber, closing the door behind them. Immediately, the Zabrak was surrounded by questioning Jedi, and Eeth looked quickly overwhelmed. The Masters didn't back off until Yoda tapped his stick on the ground, using the Force to grab the Council members by their robes and pull them back to their seats.

Yoda smiled softly when the Masters looked sufficiently chastised. "Pleased, I am, to see you live, Master Koth." The Zabrak just smiled faintly, nodding his head toward the Grandmaster, and Yoda frowned. He was a great deal thinner than when he saw him last. "Explain, you must, what happened."

Eeth took in a shaking breath and closed his eyes. "You know what happened on Kabal." The Masters all nodded. "We thought to draw out the Negotiator, and we ended up with a monster."

"Grievous," Mace growled. "A cyborg. He leads the Separatist army now. You do know about that, right? The galaxy is at war."

Koth nodded slightly. "I heard, yes..." The Zabrak shivered. "The Negotiator is Obi-Wan Kenobi. I saw him on Kabal, he-"

Yoda held up a calming hand, and the Master trailed off, looking down at the ground. "Know this, we do. Fight him, did you?"

He shook his head. "Not for long. I know when I'm outmatched. My Jedi were dead, and I..." Eeth clenched his jaw and looked away from the little Grandmaster while he collected himself. "I ran. The planet was crawling in Separatists, and Kenobi was after me, I...I managed to lose them in the riots, and I got on board a ship. I ended up on Clak-dor VII, and...I tried to make my way back, but the Bith have been Separatist from the start, and security at the spaceport was tight, especially after Antar 4."

"You heard of that?" Mace asked, his face falling when the Zabrak nodded.

"Everyone heard of that." He shivered. "Kenobi and Grievous were on my trail for some time. I had to hide for months before I finally lost them..."

"Did you learn anything about them?" Mace asked, hopeful again, but the Zabrak shook his head.

"I was running, not learning. I'm sorry, Masters..."

"Be not sorry," Yoda said. "For observation, we must send you. Gone, you have been, in these times of darkness. Desperate, a Jedi may become, when forced to run."

"Do you sense the Dark Side in him, Master?" Windu asked, and the little Master frowned, his big eyes narrowing.

"The Dark Side, I do not sense. But more to fear than the Dark Side, we have."

Koth nodded. "I understand, Master. I submit to your observations." The little Master drew his legs up under him, took a deep breath, and submerged himself in the Force, the Zabrak shivering as he felt the warmth of Yoda's touch within him, and he slowly began to lower his defenses. His breathing evened as he became accustomed to the feel of the Force once again, and slowly, he relaxed, looking around the room and smiling softly. "I see I've lost my seat."

"Only recently," Qui-Gon said softly. "Though when you are cleared for duty, I would be happy to give up mine so you may have it once again."

The Zabrak dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand. "Nonsense, Master Jinn. I...feel the need for meditation and reflection on what has transpired. I don't feel fit to serve on the Council." He bit his lip, looking away from the human. "I'm...sorry. About your student. He was a fine Jedi, once."

"I thank you for your condolences. You're right, he was." Quinlan looked at the man seated next to him and found the Master to be softly smiling, and the Kiffar couldn't help but be impressed with the way Jinn was handling this, when not too long ago, he would have fallen to pieces at the mention of his beloved student. Vos smiled. Despite what Qui-Gon seemed to think, it would appear that the aging human belonged on the Council after all.

"I lost my lightsaber on Kabal," Koth muttered to nobody in particular. "I'll have to make a new one..."

"We'll have time for that after you've recovered," Mace assured.

A loud, sharp whistle rang out in the room, and all the Masters looked to the sweetly smirking Quinlan Vos. "Are we done here? I have a Padawan to get back to, and-"

"You're on the Council now, Master Vos," Mace growled. "The needs of the Order supercede your own."

"But we aren't discussing the needs of the group, we're fawning." He crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm glad you're back, Master Koth. Truly, I am, but you've missed some shit. Obi-Wan's been running around and making an absolute mess of the Republic, and unless you have something to share about him, than we need to get back to work."

The Zabrak was silent for a moment, and little Master Yoda grimaced, focusing as Koth's defenses rose up. Finally, the Master managed a weak, "I did fight him on Kabal. But I was worn down by his friend, or droid, or whatever it was. And even then, he never seriously tried to kill me."

"This sounds really familiar," Quinlan drawled, crossing his ankle over his knee as he leaned back. "I bet he wouldn't shut up either."

"Yes and no. He said nothing of significance, but he did try to...sway me." He took a deep breath. "I did fight him for some time, but he injured me very early in the confrontation."

"We do know he's good with a blade," Quinlan drawled, holding up his arms to display the burned rings around them.

"You fought him too?" The Kiffar nodded. "Then you know what he does."

Quinlan nodded. "I do," he said, pointing to the other Masters. "They don't."

Eeth closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before softly saying, "He divides his attention. It's like...he allows the Force to move his body while he manipulates the Dark Side to get within our guard."

"You're talking like he's one with the Dark Side," Mace drawled. "You can't be one with the Dark Side, that isn't how the Sith work. You can't be one with something you exert your will over."

"Of course you can," the Kiffar scoffed, glaring at the frustrated Windu. "He can, in any case. Light or Dark, the Force is the Force."

"The sides are different," Master Windu growled.

"No, they aren't. These are the sorts of dangerous assumptions that are going to get you killed when you face him, Mace! And don't think you won't, because he hated you, even when he was a Jedi."

"I'm a better swordsman than he is, and I know his words are poison. I won't listen."

"No, listening has never been your strong point..."

"Are you trying to test me, Vos?" Mace snarled, rising from his seat, but the Kiffar just laughed.

"You haven't fought Kenobi, you ignorant ass, not now, not as a Sith Lord. I have, and he was just playing with me. I couldn't even sense the Dark Side in him, so he was clearly in complete control, but when he loses it..." He whistled. "That's something I don't want to be around for."

"I've seen that," Luminara said softly, her voice even and measured and it seemed to placate the angry Mace. "On Mandalore, for just a moment, his control slipped. He regained it quickly, but for a moment..." She shook her head. "I've never felt such power. He dispatched Qui-Gon and I with no effort at all."

"Not only that," the Kiffar drawled, "but he got inside my head when I started using your style, Mace. Vaapad is too close to the Dark Side to be used safely against him."

"...wait, you were using Vaapad?!" Windu growled. "How many times have I told you, Quinlan? You're too close to the Dark Side as it is to safely use it!"

"Nobody can safely use it, not against him. If you do, he's going to kill you." The tension between the two Masters hit a breaking point, and before it could go any further, Yoda tapped his stick on the floor, the little Master having come out of his meditations. "The Dark Side in you, I do not sense, Eeth. Clear, your mind is. Tired, strained, yes, but clear. Focused. Close to the Dark Side, you have been, but taken you, it has not."

"Even still," Windu said, "I'd like to keep him under observation for a time."

Yoda nodded, "Agree with you, I do."

"I do as well," Master Koth rasped. "I just haven't felt like myself since Kabal. If anything's wrong..."

"We'll catch it if anything surfaces," Mace quietly reassured. "We called everyone back to prepare them to face Obi-Wan, and I think we have what we need to do that."

"I'm still in favor of an alliance," Quinlan drawled, the Masters in the room glaring at him, and Koth shivered. "If we can get him on our side-"

"We can't."

"If," he insisted, "then we will have everything we need to win the war. He can lead us to Dooku, he can tell us who the Sith Lord is, and without those two..." The Kiffar splayed his hands out in front of him. "Bam! No war."

"Are you forgetting the part that he's a Sith Lord?" Master Windu growled. "Killing Jedi is what they do."

"Not him. Not yet, at least, not until we make him. Send the right people and he'll talk."

"And we know his words are poison."

Vos scoffed. "Not to an idiot. Send me." No Master said anything. "We can't change him back, I get it. Master Yoda said his change must come from within, but the roots of the Dark Side dig deep. I'm willing to write him off as a loss, but Obi-Wan's fall was of our making. Us. The Jedi did this to him. The fact that we're even talking about killing him makes us no better than the Sith. They just kill their problems too."

"It's not the same, it's-"

"It is the same," Qui-Gon said softly, his dark blue eyes regarding the other Masters with a sorrow that ran so deep, it touched the Force itself. "Quinlan's right. This was our fault. This was my fault. We drove him to it, and we are responsible for him now. We are not Sith. We don't eliminate our problems. We're going to capture him, and we'll think of what to do from there." He nodded his head in Quinlan's direction. "He has Obi-Wan's lightsaber. He's going to have a look at it to see if we can better understand why he fell. We're going to need that knowledge if we're going to stand before him."

"...this is a terrible idea," Mace droned, and Qui-Gon just sighed, a slight smile on his lips.

"Do you have a better idea?"

"...no."

"Well!" Quinlan chirped, clapping his hands together. "Now we have that out of the way, let's talk about my good friend Obi-Wan Kenobi. He's got mind control," he started, counting on his fingers, "wicked lightsaber skills, a stolen Republic ship, possibly a battalion of clones, a hot, psycho Nightsister, a murderous cyborg, and a kriffing enormous pet rancor. Probably." He held up his seven extended fingers. "This many things, at least. Where do we start?"

Nobody on the Council had any idea how to answer that question.