Chapter 108: Dark Dealings
Kashyyyk was a mess. Nobody was underestimating its strategic importance in the war, and both the Republic and the Confederacy were pouring their resources into the battle. What was really making the difference for the Republic was the native Wookies, a species known for a volatile temperament that made them loyal, friendly companions, but also made them almost nine feet of unstoppable, berserker rage when upset. In the same way that Separatist worlds like Mygeeto were difficult to invade, Kashyyyk was proving to be a challenge for the Confederate Forces. And then came the call from Ilum. Kenobi's Shadow Legion descended upon the Temple like a swarm, and they came fully equipt to execute every Jedi on the sparsely populated planet. Sith control of Ilum would be catastrophic, and the Order made it their top priority to bring as much aid to the distant planet as possible in hopes of finally catching and destroying not just the infamous Shadow Legion, but the Sith Lord himself.
Star Destroyers were pulled from nearly every siege to provide temporary aid, and under the command of Mace Windu, nearly a hundred Jedi left for Ilum. Luminara had stayed behind on Kashyyyk. Someone had to, and because of the importance of the planet, she had guessed that at some point, Obi-Wan would come by himself to secure it, which is why she came here, and with the attack on Ilum, it seemed likely this was the time. Contrary to the Council's wishes, she still had the intention of talking to him, though peace, it seemed, was off the table. Releasing Aayla Secura for nothing had been uncharacteristic, but above all else, Yoda seemed to think this was a good idea, and that was good enough for her. She'd talk to Obi-Wan when he arrived. It would be an easy thing to surrender to him. A captured Jedi was far more valuable than a dead one, for more than one reason, none of which she wanted to think about.
Then came the Silence, and with its arrival, a swarm of monsters was unleashed. Literal monsters that bore the resemblance of races she knew, their features warped and twisted by the Dark Side, the humid air of Kashyyyk turning instantly frigid and cold upon their arrival. These were the same beasts that swept Umbara, the same creatures that had left no survivors and had even begun eating the dead. Stronger and faster than their unaltered species, Luminara imagined what such a force would be if their numbers were bolstered by altered Wookies, and she ordered the retreat back to the capital of Kachirho. They retreated faster than the creatures could advance, and soon enough, they were in the safety of the highly defendable capital. The lakes that surrounded the city gave the creatures pause, though those that had come from aquatic species' swiftly jumped in to water to disappear beneath the surface. Luminara looked up into the sky and knew what she had to do.
With the capital secure, at least for now, Luminara jumped into her Jedi starfighter and accelerated up through the atmosphere, her eyes narrowed in focus as she looked at the steadily growing form of the dreadnought Silence, her quick mind racing with exactly how she was going to manage this. Surrendering to one of those creatures or a droid didn't seem like a possibility where survival was the outcome, and Luminara planned on living through this. She wanted peace, not suicide.
She navigated the battlefield easily enough, keeping close to her own Star Destroyer before she turned to circle around the planet, and when she was clear of both Republic and Separatist ships, she headed off into space to begin her wide arc toward the distant Silence. It sat far beyond the battle, it's engines off, it's weapons disengaged, a dark, silent observer of a battle it was not part of, and yet, she knew it had delivered the creatures to the planet. This ship was not here before. She frowned as she looked at her ship's instrumentation, the mighty dreadnaught looming before her, and saw that the ship's shields were raised, but most other systems were disabled, which kept it difficult to read on her scans. She carefully flew in close, holding her breath as she drew near, using the Force to guide her safely alongside the massive ship, and when she found an opening, a small, secondary hangar bay, she flew inside and powered the ship down as quickly as she could, hoping to attract the least amount of attention as possible. The cockpit slid open, and she leapt out, landing without a sound on the deck, and she looked around the hangar. Save for her ship, it was empty, and she assumed this to be the bay where the transport ship that carried the creatures flew out from.
But there was also something else. Something subtle and cold and dark, not so small it could barely be seen, but as if it walked softly, cautiously, timid and mild but so, so dangerous when the moment was right, and so, so familiar. Her eyes shot open, her lightsaber flying to her hand and activating in brilliant green and moving to clash with sudden, fierce red. With a hiss of rage, her assailant backed off, red blade raised and ready in the exact position that Luminara had taught her.
"Barriss," the Jedi said softly, her voice calm and detached, which seemed to aggravate the younger Mirialan's silent rage. "Don't even try it."
"Try what, Master?" Barriss drawled softly, but her voice quivered with anger.
"You can't kill me, you know you can't," Luminara said gently, sympathetic and honest, and Barriss' eyes narrowed in fury.
"You don't know anything," she hissed. "I'm apprenticed to a Sith Master, I am so much stronger than I was when you saw me last!"
"I believe it," she said calmly, reaching through to the Force and centering herself. She pitied this girl, the student she had lost to the Dark Side, but that was all. She was a Jedi Master, and a damn good one, and when it was time to let go, Luminara did. She wasn't like Qui-Gon, who nearly drowned in grief, or Quinlan, who felt too deeply too often, or Obi-Wan, who silently became bitter and wrathful and believed he was alone. She felt deeply, treasured her connections, but she let go when it was time, and she was strong for it.
Barriss pointed her blade at Luminara. "Then you know you're going to die here."
"That's a possibility," the Jedi said softly. "But I know you, Barriss, and I know your new Master, and that's going to make it very difficult for you to kill me." Blade raised, Barriss began backing up, and Luminara could feel her fear, her intent, and she reached out through the Force and grabbed hold of the control panel on the wall, grasped it tight, and crushed it under the weight of the powers at her command. The younger Mirialan flinched slightly when sparks showered around her. She was trapped, at least for a time. She was Sith now. She raised her weapon. She could beat this Jedi.
Blades clashed swiftly together as former Master and Padawan fought, and Luminara had to concede that her student had become quite good in her short tenure under Kenobi. She was faster, certainly stronger, and it took nearly all of the Master's focus to move her blade fast enough to counter the swift strikes, the quick cuts, the wicked stabs. Barriss seamlessly integrated what she had learned from the Jedi with what she had learned from the Sith, and Luminara recognized all of it. She had taught Obi-Wan Soresu, and while he had perfected it, she understood the way in which he used it, and the longer she fought with Barriss, the easier it became to predict her movements. It didn't matter how fast, how strong she had become. Luminara was intimately familiar with the style.
With a hiss, Barriss dodged back and brought her blade over her shoulder, switching to the comfort of the style she had used for years when her new maneuvers failed to get past Luminara's defense. It was exactly what the Jedi had been waiting for. As Barriss drew back, Luminara followed, green blade never leaving contact with red, and then the young Dark Sider saw the Jedi's weapon angling straight for her face, she ducked underneath, planting her hand on the ground for extra leverage as she spun further away, both sabers striking the ground and leaving molten paths in their wake. That one moment was enough, and with an extended hand, Luminara grasped the Force, and when Barriss rose, she pushed her back hard enough to send the girl off her feet and skidding to the ground. She tried to quickly rise, and froze when she found the green tip if the Jedi's lightsaber pointed right at the pit of her throat. She dared not breathe for fear the movement would bring the glowing plasma into contact with her skin. The saber was wrenched from her hand and flew to the Jedi.
The blade held steady, Luminara leaned down, her blue eyes narrowed dangerously. "Barriss," she said softly, "get in the ship."
"...w-what?" she quietly gasped, but the Jedi was having none of it, and with a hand that was surprisingly strong, Luminara grabbed Barriss around her thin wrist and began dragging her to the starship. "N-no, wait!" she began, but was silenced when her former Master's grip tightened around her.
"I need to see your Master," she said softly, but there was a low menace to the Jedi's voice as she slowly began to lose her patience. "We have peace terms to discuss."
"Peace?" Barriss asked, her voice rising in her surprise, and she began softly laughing. "There is no peace to be had with my Master, not until all of you are dead! He hates the Jedi more than I ever did! You think you know him, but you don't."
"I do," she said firmly. "Obi-Wan and I have been friends for a long time."
"He isn't Obi-Wan anymore!" the young Mirialan snarled. "He's Darth Lumis, Lord of the Sith, and you can't beat him."
"I don't want to beat him," Luminara said slowly, as though she were talking to a child. "I want to talk to him. I will put my faith in Qui-Gon Jinn when he said that Obi-Wan Kenobi is alive and well, and Obi-Wan will want to talk to me." She pushed the younger girl toward the starfighter. "Get in the ship, Barriss." The girl didn't move, only shook her head and the Jedi sighed. "Fine," she said, her hand raised and the comlink left on the ship floated into her grasp. She placed the device in Barriss' open palm. "Contact him. I'm a Jedi Master on the Council, he collects us. Contact him and tell him I'm with you. Tell him we're coming to see him and see what he says." Barriss didn't move. "...or," Luminara growled, "I can put you in this ship anyway and take you back to Coruscant."
Barriss stared at the Jedi for a long moment, hate filling her entire being, and she silently entered the numeric code to contact her Master. The small hologram appeared a moment later, his brows knit in concentration before his eyes seemed to light up when he gazed upon the Jedi. "Master..." Barriss said softly, but Kenobi quickly cut her off.
"Luminara..."
"It has been a while, hasn't it?" the Mirialan asked softly, a faint smile on her lips. "I've captured your apprentice," she said smoothly, and a quick flash of anger ripped across the Sith's face. "But...as a sign of good faith, I'm willing to turn over my prisoner in exchange for sitting down and discussing peace." The Sith stared at her for a long while, and for a moment, Luminara thought that her plan had failed, but then a slow, warm smile crossed the Sith Lord's face, and she found she could breathe again. She hadn't realized she was holding her breath.
"Barriss," he commanded, and the girl snapped to attention. "Bring Luminara to me on Raxus. Give her no trouble. You're a prisoner, and you'd be wise to remember that this Jedi is better than you."
Barriss winced at the harsh reprimand. "Right away, Master..." she whimpered, and the com cut. The young Sith Apprentice meekly climbed into the starfighter and settled into the copilot's seat, and the Jedi climbed in after her. Powering the ship on, the cockpit hatch closed, and the Jedi punched in the coordinates for Raxus, and moments later, they were speeding away to the capital of the Confederacy.
Obi-Wan sat on the bed with his legs folded underneath him and Padmé's head in his lap, one hand in her hair and the other on her rounded stomach, the twin still and unmoving. He had tried to enter her mind to fix what had been broken, but the Force kept him out, a wall of fear so strong he could not breech it without forcing his way in and shattering her mind completely. That had already been done once, though not by him, and he didn't believe she could handle such a hard hand again. His eyes drifted down her body and stopped on the wide, black bruises on her arms, and he could feel himself burn, rage and hatred calling to the Dark Side that always lay just within his grasp, and it swelled, roaring its outrage at what had been done to his charge. A sharp tug within him, the slight tremble of the woman under his hands called his attention away from the physical signs of abuse and back to her mental ones.
"Focus, Obi-Wan," the voice said, soft and sad and distant. Qui-Gon's pain and distress had wounded him, disrupted his efforts and halted his progress in manifesting outside the realm of the Force. He would recenter, he would refocus, and he would continue on with his task, but not now, and not today. Today, they needed to heal Padmé. Kenobi had rushed to Coruscant while Ilum was being attacked, the chaos and the scrambling of the Republic the best time to slip into their capital to check on his mistress and the twins. He found her to be a physical mess of dark bruises and tender skin, signs not just of a hard hand, but a violent, uncaring one. But worse than her abuse was her mental state, fractured and unfocused and afraid, her eyes unable to focus on one thing for very long, her thoughts jumbled and incoherent, and when Kenobi had tried to see within her, the raw power of fear had kept him out. The Force would not allow him past, a cold, strong wall that held everything back, including help and comfort.
It was obvious what had happened. Manipulating people, opening their minds and entering them, changing things, altering perspective and memory was an art, a finite practice that required years and years to perfect. The finesse required to open a mind undetected, alter what was needed, plant ideas, exert influence was a delicate process, one that could set a plan into motion, one that could break a man completely, and nobody would ever know that someone had orchestrated it. But just as it could be used to carefully alter, it could be used to destroy as well, a much less complicated process that required only brute strength and a powerful will, and while it did yield results, it was akin to breaking a tool instead of using it. Along with his innate natural talent for mind manipulation, Obi-Wan had the absolute best teacher in the subject. Darth Sidious was truly a master of subtle manipulations, and even he had considered Kenobi gifted. The manipulations that they had used on Padmé had been subtle, long term plans that took years to come to fruition. They had been careful, cautious, and as a result, the girl suffered no damage to her mind, save for the mire of confusion and guilt that she had felt for her infidelity.
What had happened to her now was nothing short of a brutalization, a violent rending of a person's will, and for one with no Force sensitivity, it was like taking a hammer to glass. A Jedi could resist such an intrusion, with strong mental walls providing protection for the mind that lay underneath, but Padmé had no such walls, and when the powerful will of another came down upon her in full force, there were no defenses to protect the soft and fragile brain from being squished. The strength of the manipulation was unnecessary, and the user clearly had no talent in the art of manipulation. Caught by the Dark Side, Anakin Skywalker was a powerful, threatening fist, one to be approached with extreme caution, but he was, and remained, a rabid animal, his supposed love of this girl shown in the ripping of her mind and the savaging of her body.
It was very easy to convince her to come with him, though he had been prepared for a challenge, since his supposed massacre on Stewjon seemed to be all anyone was talking about. Padmé hadn't believed the reports for an instant. The woman was frightened and afraid, and thought she had been reluctant to leave at first, the danger to her child made the decision an easy one. She left her work to her handmaidens, body doubles that shared a striking resemblance to the girl, and with her decoys in place, she fled the capital of the Republic on her lover's ship. Kenobi had brought her to Raxus, far more beautiful and temperate than violent Mustafar, and once within the safety of the magnificent palace, she had fallen asleep.
Obi-Wan set to work immediately, but as before, fear had kept him out, the children laying still and defending their mother, cloaked in the Force and so, so afraid., and no amount of coaxing was easing them. Not yet.
"He's fallen," Qui-Gon said mournfully, and Obi-Wan slowly nodded his head, his eyes closed as he once again reached for the fearful twins. "Is this what I create?"
"Bright lights and dark shadows, Qui-Gon, you said so yourself," Kenobi muttered aloud, though he didn't need to. His conversation was an internal one, and the words didn't need to be said so much as felt. "Hush, you're distracting me."
Qui-Gon was only silent for a moment. "Do you have a plan? The massacre on Stewjon is being attributed to you. It isn't good."
Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "Qui-Gon, I burned a planet. Not just a city, the whole damn thing. There is a wound in the Force where Ord Mantell is, and I put it there. I don't think my reputation is going to suffer any." He closed his eyes and ran his hand over Padmé's stomach, the touch of the Force on his fingertips to soothe the twins, but they were having none of it. "Anakin Skywalker has become dangerous, and now I hold the one thing in this world that he cares about. When he finds out, he's going to be so mad."
"And you think that's wise?" Qui-Gon asked. "Anger fuels him, Obi-Wan, do you really think it's a good idea to add to that?"
"I know flames consume," he said gently. "I know that better than anyone. The larger a fire grows, the hotter it becomes, but the harder it is to contain. Anakin Skywalker is newly fallen. In the Dark Side, he is but a child, and the further down that path he goes, the harder it will be to control himself." He held a hand up, closed his eyes, and felt the Dark Side strong and fearsome and sitting patiently by his side, awaiting his command, his faithful companion, his steadfast friend, calm and dark and devoid of the flames that had consumed it in his insanity. He felt stronger now than he ever had, more in control than he had ever been. He had expected Qui-Gon's presence to weaken him, his close proximity to the light chasing the dark away, but instead, it gave him focus, deepened his connection with the Force that fell even darker for the strength of the brightness that stood near him. And he was one with it, more now than he had ever been.
"He was a Jedi for a long time," Qui-Gon said softly. "A Jedi trained with the knowledge that one day, he'd face you. His defenses are formidable."
"I know, I've fought him," Obi-Wan said softly, his breath even and calming as he continued to attempt to ease the fear of the children. "As a Jedi, as a counterpoint to me, you're right, he's my equal. But now, he's venturing into my domain. Now, he's playing my game, and I play it better than he does."
"He's a nexus, Obi-Wan."
"And in the light, that meant something. Embracing the Dark Side...diminishes you as it strengthens. I know, I've done it. It's all the Force, but the skills, the focus required to control the Dark Side are very different from the Jedi. It will take him some time to adjust, no matter how talented he is."
"...you believe you can win?"
Obi-Wan bowed his head, deep in thought for a moment. "It will not be easy," he mumbled. "He is powerful, terribly so, and with his embrace of the darkness, that power will intensify. But with that much power that quickly will come a lack of control and without control, he will leave himself open to mistakes. And I have always been good on the defensive. I can win." Kenobi paused and grumbled. "If he doesn't kill me first..."
"...the trouble seems to be Sidious."
"...you're right. That is the trouble."
The bedroom door opened, and Kenobi looked over his shoulder to see Cody walking in, the man's armor dirty with mud and blood and carbon scoring from blasters. Observing the girl laying unconscious on the bed with his Master, Cody softly groaned as he shed the armor, stretching as the black suit he wore underneath had a chance to breathe, and he sat right next to the Sith. "You certainly like collecting lovers, don't you?" he asked softly, smiling at Kenobi as he chuckled softly. "If you're not careful, Quinlan and I are going to get jealous."
Kenobi scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Don't be foolish, Cody, Padmé's a mistress, not a lover. There's no replacing you and Quin, you know that." The Sith frowned, but he struggled to keep the smile off his face. "Seriously though, Quinlan's a terrible influence on you."
"Oh, I know." The clone smiled softly as he looked at the woman on the bed, her head resting in the Sith's lap, her stomach large with the children she carried, her peaceful face hiding the fear that raged within her. "Ilum was a success, sir," he said softly. "We had mostly withdrawn before the Jedi arrived, as you requested. Skywalker didn't show up, though."
"No, why should he?" Kenobi whispered. "He's no longer a Jedi, that place will hold no meaning to him anymore."
"It seems he stayed to fight around Mygeeto. His movements are unpredictable, sir, and he is raising hell everywhere he goes."
Kenobi groaned and took deep breaths to calm his rising temper. "Oh, we need to handle him...I was hoping to deal with Sidious first..." He leaned over and absently kissed Padmé's forehead as he thought, the girl moaning softly, her hand laying over Kenobi's as he tried to get through to the twins that protected her. "Perhaps we can get the attention of both of them at once..."
"Would you not just incur his wrath, sir?"
"Oh, I may. But Sidious needs to think very carefully about who he wants as his apprentice moving forward, especially since I stand in a position to ruin everything he has worked for."
"...aren't you going to kill him anyway?" Cody asked. He was confused. The Sith Lords, the way of the Force, all of it, was confusing.
"Well, yes, but I need to Empire established first. Let Sidious execute the Sith imperative, as we have intended, and when the time is right, when the Force wills it so, I will kill him to give rise to the new order of Sith Lords. Sidious' way will only see the Force strike back against the darkness for his abuses. My way will see the Dark Side flourish, a thousand, thousand years of uninterrupted darkness guided by the Force..."
"...I do love you, my Lord, but you're crazy." Cody shrugged. "A genius, perhaps, and the strongest son of a bitch I've ever met, but out of your kriffing mind."
"I wonder, Cody, what sort of a person willingly follows a madman?"
The clone grinned broadly. "An idiot, sir." Kenobi chuckled softly, his entire being relaxing in the presence of his friend, and with his increased ease, he felt the children shift, the fear that they sat wrapped in fading slightly. Obi-Wan grabbed that feeling and held on to it tightly. He'd be through soon enough.
"I need," Kenobi said softly, "a clone's biochip tripped. Far, far away from me, and in Skywalker's 501st, if possible. Can you do it?"
"...they don't just fail, sir," Cody said softly. "It just doesn't happen. You have done it, but...well, nobody can explain that. We were written off as a bad batch."
Slowly, Kenobi nodded. "Then capture some clones for me. I have some experimentation to do. I'll find a way to trip it. I need someone you trust to infiltrate Skywalker's battalion and get close to his commanders. Can you do that?"
"Easily, sir."
"I'll get Barriss on this too. In the meantime, we need to work to expose what really happened on Stewjon. I don't think we can get Skywalker out of the war, but the problems this could cause him will keep his attention divided, and I want him grounded when he finds out his wife is gone. I'll get Quin on this, nobody investigates better than him. If there's something there we can use, he'll find it."
Cody grinned. "You have a plan, then."
"I do. And it's a good one. You'll like it when it all comes together. Just be careful. Skywalker's trying to bait us, we can't give him what he wants."
"Us? Sir, he's baiting you. He didn't murder my parents."
The door opened once again, and this time, two Mirialan's entered, one holding the other tightly by the wrists. Cody started to move, but a hand on his shoulder instantly calmed him, and he waited, watching as the cautious woman and the nervous girl entered. The Jedi's blue eyes narrowed when she saw the unconscious Senator, and she drew her lightsaber and held it to her captive's neck. Obi-Wan was completely unconcerned, and he brushed his efforts with the twins off as a lost cause for the moment. He gently lay Padmé's head upon one of the large, fluffy pillows and slid off the bed. The Mirialan, drew in a sharp breath and held the saber closer to Barriss' neck.
"You have a funny way of talking peace, Luminara," Kenobi drawled. "Is this how Jedi do things these days?"
"You have a funny way of negotiating," the Jedi countered. "That's the Senator that's been working with the Jedi to arrange peace talks with you. She may not be so receptive since she's been captured."
"Captured?" Kenobi chuckled. "She's my guest."
Luminara's eyes narrowed as she observed her old friend, calm and confident and so, so cocky, the clone that lay on the bed beside the Senator, his hands behind his head and infinitely amused as he watched, and Senator Amidala, still in her unconsciousness, but her presence was fearful and her arms were covered in dark bruises. She clutched her lightsaber tighter.
"This is low, even for a Sith Lord!" she growled, pointing her saber at Amidala. "I know you have been manipulating her, Qui-Gon said as much, but look at her! The very least of this is rape!" Kenobi raised his hands in surrender.
"Luminara, I didn't do this," he said softly. "Padmé isn't my captive, she's my mistress, and I brought her here to help her, not hurt her." Her eyes narrowed, her mouth drew into a thin line, but she was listening. "There's a reason she stood by me in the meeting with the Chancellor, Luminara, she and I have been lovers for some time now."
"You are...delusional," the Mirialan hissed. "Mentally manipulating someone into going to bed with you isn't affection! When Anakin finds out what you've done-"
"Why do you think she's here, Luminara?"
She felt the air get sucked right out of her, and for a moment, Luminara couldn't breathe as pieces slowly began falling into place, pieces of a puzzle she didn't know needed to be solved. The change in Anakin Skywalker had been attributed to rage from Qui-Gon's death, the always emotional man turning violent and arrogant withut his Master to temper him, but there was another explanation, one much less obvious, but one that made a great deal of sense. There was a missing piece in the equation. Anakin's wrath wasn't aimed at the Sith or the Separatists that killed Qui-Gon, it was aimed at Obi-Wan, a Sith Lord, yes, but one that had avenged Qui-Gon by slaying Dooku. To any Jedi, this would have been seen as not a call to the light, but a step toward redemption. Kenobi had blamed Qui-Gon for his fall to the Dark Side, so avenging the Jedi he claimed to hate spoke to the man's ability to forgive. But Anakin hated Kenobi, truly hated him, and the reason was now clear.
Padme Amidala.
She knew that Skywalker had feelings for the girl, and had been intimate with her once, a thing that had caused the young Jedi a great deal of distress at the time. But it had been assumed that the matter had been resolved. The man was a Jedi, after all, and a Jedi wasn't permitted to have such things. But Qui-Gon was nothing if not unconventional, and Anakin's sudden anger, the knowledge that Amidala had been put under the thrall of the Sith and made to give him her body, her sudden pregnancy, and now Skywalker's wrath turned toward Kenobi made sense. Skywalker was involved with the woman, and the Sith Lord had stolen her from him. Luminara released Barriss, deactivated her saber, and put her hand to her head. Emotions were so...complicated.
Barriss ran to her Master and knelt before him, quickly muttering her apologies and whimpering softly when a gentle hand stroked her cheek and dismissed the matter, and she gratefully brought his fingers to her lips. "Her child," Luminara said softly, pointing to the Senator. "Is it yours?"
"No," Kenobi said softly. "Skywalker's."
"And you expect me to believe that she left him for you when she's carrying his child?!" the Jedi gasped. Her head was throbbing. Obi-Wan was...so much like she remembered him. Seeing him outside of battle was something she wasn't prepared for the first time, and she wasn't prepared for it now. It was easy to write him off as evil, as lost forever when he was the Sith Lord causing havoc across the galaxy, but when he talked, he was Obi-Wan, a man that suffered the loss of a lover and child, a man that now stood with the wife of a Jedi in her defense. It was unthinkable. But she believed him. And that was the worst of it.
"I don't need to expect it, I know you do," Kenobi drawled, looking her over carefully, feeling her conflict, her confusion, and then her quiet acceptance of what happened as she began piecing things together herself. Luminara had always been smart. "You saw how angry he was when we talked. You saw how Padmé fought to defend me. She is afraid of him, Luminara, what's what you're feeling from her. I'm...trying to help."
"Why," the Jedi demanded. "Why would you help her! If the child was yours, I understand, but you hate Skywalker! Why would you do this?!"
"I told you," he chirped. "We're lovers. Surely you know something about that." A sly smile crossed his face when the stalwart Master flushed dark green and averted her eyes. "Oh, this is delicious!" he chortled, drawing closer to his old friend. "Who is it that could make Luminara Unduli forget her vows, hmm? Was it Qui-Gon?" Sharp and vicious anger flashed across the Jedi's face, her furious eyes meeting amused gold. "Oh, I bet it was Qui-Gon! I felt great affection from him for you, you know."
"Do not speak ill of the dead!" she snapped. "I will not have you tarnish his memory for your amusement, Sith Lord!"
"Dead..." Kenobi whispered, so quietly she could barely hear, and a soft, knowing smile crossed his face, so similar to the one that Qui-Gon so often wore, and the Jedi felt herself tremble. "Not so dead as you may think."
She stared at him for a long while, her rage slowly fading to make way for disbelief and pity. She shook her head as she looked at her old friend. "Oh, Obi-Wan, they said you were insane. I didn't think that could be, but you are mad as they come." Before she could move, before she could even see him move, Kenobi was by her side, her hand gripped tightly in his, and she was pulled hard into the Force, the jolt so sudden, so violent she thought she couldn't breathe, and then she felt it. Him. Qui-Gon Jinn, his presence bright and calming and completely unmistakable and so very, very alive. Not...living, but she could feel him distinctly in the Force, could just barely hear the faint calling of her name in his voice. She felt herself slammed backwards, her eyes flying open to look at the ceiling high above her head from where she had fallen back, and it was gone. But she felt it. It burned inside her, and she couldn't catch her breath, couldn't calm her racing heart. Qui-Gon Jinn was alive. But...how.
"Peace," Kenobi began softly, "is impossible. At least right now. The Senate will never allow it, not after what happened on Stewjon. Sith Hells, I will have to placate the Mandalorians, they have this peaceful world protection...thing."
"Qui-Gon," she gasped, seeing to hear nothing of what he said. "I heard him, I felt him!"
"As I said, not so dead as you may think." He looked her over, the woman gasping and confused as she rose to shaking legs. "Slain by Dooku, and he haunts me." Kenobi scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Figures. Focus, Luminara, we aren't here to discuss Qui-Gon, not exactly. I need your help."
She was shaking, but she looked at the Sith Lord, observed him carefully, and slowly nodded. "You said peace isn't possible. And how could it be, after what you've done on Stewjon?"
"That wasn't me, that was Skywalker." Kenobi scoffed and rolled his eyes when Luminara looked at him with disbelief. "Come now, Luminara, with how angry he has been? With what he's done to Padmé, is that so unbelievable?"
"Let's say that's true..." the Mirialan said slowly. "Let's say for a moment that Anakin did this. Why."
"To get to me. My...mother and father were there, I suppose, he did it to wound me, because such an action would wound him." Kenobi growled, anger suddenly getting the better of him. "Open your eyes, Luminara! Anakin has fallen to the Dark Side! I told you there's a Sith Lord in the Republic, and there is! My Master is over there, and you had better believe that he is keeping a close watch on Skywalker, especially after what's happened."
"...who is he?" The Jedi was silent for a moment, giving the Sith a chance to respond, but he said nothing. "...Obi-Wan. Who is your Master?! Tell me, and we can defeat him together! We can take him down!"
"You can't," he said softly. "I won't allow it." She was hurt, offended, and it angered the Sith Lord. He clenched his fist when he felt the Dark Side rear up in opposition to the Jedi, but he quickly subdued it. "I am Sith, Luminara. The Jedi are already done. There is no stopping my Master, not anymore. The Jedi were undone years ago, and if I tell you who my Master is, than you will all be dead today. I can't have that, I need more time."
"But you seek our deaths," she snarled, her tone accusatory and angry, but it had no effect on the Sith Lord.
"Yes," Kenobi said plainly. "The Force is pulled to the darkness, Luminara, the Jedi are finished, and it's the will of the Force that it is so, not mine." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "...but not yet. Right now, I need the Jedi, and if we are quick and very, very careful, some of you may yet live, but time is running out. Anakin's fall is making things more difficult than they need to be."
"And peace?" she asked, but Kenobi just shook his head.
"It will never happen. Peace goes against my Master's plans." He smirked slightly and carefully observed the Jedi before him, cold and angry and so, so afraid. "But if you help me now, we may be able to kill him."
"...what do you need me to do?" she asked softly. She didn't know what else to do. There was nothing left to be done. If the Jedi knew about all this, if they knew Obi-Wan's plans, if this was all true, than being armed with the knowledge of it could help them live. Perhaps they could yet be saved.
"Tell Yoda everything we talked about," Kenobi said swiftly. "Tell him about Qui-Gon, tell him I want to kill my Master, and tell him that I want to speak with him. We can meet anywhere at any time, but I need to see him, and only him."
"This is a trap," Luminara whispered. "It has to be."
"It isn't, but I'm certain you will think it is. Within a month or two, I will have all the proof you need against Anakin Skywalker, if you need more proof than you already have. Follow him closely, and I believe he will lead you back to Sidious. If he isn't inducted into the Sith yet, he will be very, very soon." Obi-Wan smiled at her gently. "I can save you, Luminara. I can save many of you, if you will allow it, if you can serve a Force that craves the darkness. If not..." He shrugged indifferently. "The Jedi are done. Anakin's fall, my fall is proof of the Force's current alignment. Consider that your warning. I do hope the Jedi will have the wisdom to see the truth of this."
"...I'll tell Yoda," she said softly, calmly, but her heart was pounding in her chest.
"I'll get you on a ship back to Coruscant," the Sith Lord said softly. "May the Force be with you, my friend. I do hope we find ourselves standing together against my Master."