OBI-WAN KENOBI

How did everything go so wrong?

Obi-wan asked himself this question countless times during the last two weeks. Things weren't perfect before, with the war and the return of the sith, but it was manageable. They would be able to solve these problems with enough time. Now, with master Yoda and Windu in jail and Chancellor Palpatine being revealed as a sith lord, everything became much more complicated.

Objectively, learning about the Chancellor's true identity was a good thing. Now he wouldn't be able to manipulate the order like he did before. If everything went right, they would have disposed of him and finally healed the republic, bringing it back to its former glory. Winning the war would be much easier without a sith sabotaging them from the inside.

And yet, despite all that, the situation actually became worse.

How could the republic be so blind? Both the senate and the public actually sympathized with Palpatine. The two most powerful members of the order were arrested for doing their job, which was stopping the threat to the republic and the balance of the force. The order was also accused of religious fanaticism, because people apparently thought that it was an attack based on religious grounds. Did they really not know about the dangers of the dark side? Did they forget about atrocities caused by the sith?

So many wars were fought against the sith and the Republic was now choosing them above their sworn protectors. People thought Palpatine was a victim, a member of the religious community, prosecuted by the order. As if the Sith were not genocidal maniacs, who perverted the very fabric of the universe with their presence.

At this point Obi-wan wished that Palpatine would wake up from his coma, just so he could be interrogated. Maybe then people would be able to see the rot that the man was spreading with his every word.

But before that happened, the Jedi had to stop the chaos from spreading. The senate tried to put as many sanctions as it could on the order without openly declaring them traitors. They wouldn't go so far, especially now when separatists went into offensive, sending much more troops than before. That meant cuts to the fundings, supervisors being placed in the temple and the string of apologies and explanations having to be given from the order.

He was in the middle of one right now, standing in front of the Jedi temple on Coruscant and delivering the speech to the press.

"...We also wish for a quick recovery to the chancellor. We hope that his awakening will lead to the resolution of this situation. Actions of master Yoda and master Windu, though taken with good intentions in mind, were misplaced and worthy of contempt. The Jedi order was not consulted about their plans and we condemn their actions" these words tasted like poison. In the past, the news about stopping the sith would be met with applause, not condemnation. Did the republic really fall so low? But if the previous sentence was bad, the one coming next was even worse.

"Jedi order admits that some of the practices and ideals taught in the order became outdated. Which is why I would like to apologize for any unjust actions taken against the sith. While the sith were enemies of the republic in the past, it's no longer a case. They deserve to be given a chance and not be judged by the actions of their ancestors" He was ashamed of his words. They were the words of the coward. But the order didn't have much choice. The Senate pushed for further sanctions and the only thing they could do was to try changing public opinion before that happened.

That's why the council decided to give this speech, judging that humiliation was a small price to pay for being able to stop the powerful sith lord. They would look for any evidence connecting Palpatine to Dooku and separatists or anything that would expose his crimes. Maybe that way they would be able to prove the Chancellor's guilt and change the public perception of the Sith.

"May the force be with chancellor Palapatine" He ended the speech.

YODA

It was a long time since he felt so powerless. He was meditating in his cell, trying to think of anything that would change the horrible situation the jedi order found itself in, but he wasn't able to think of anything.

Chancellor Palpatine was manipulating both sides of the war, people were losing faith in the order and insane sith was running loose. Things looked truly hopeless.

How did no one notice the corruption creeping towards the republic? Was it the veil of the dark side? Could he trust the words of the sith on this matter? Or maybe it was just another manipulation? Things certainly went too well for Darth Imperius to think that it was all just a coincidence.

Yoda debated on this for a long time, finally deciding to try sensing the veil. It would certainly be easier now that he knew what to look for.

He sent his thoughts into the force. He tried to become one with it, to sense if there was any sign of corruption. For a long time he couldn't find anything.

But after a significant amount of time, he felt something. He could feel a shadow, disturbing the flow of the force, quietly weakening the light side and making it harder for jedi to use.

He concentrated, trying to find a source. What he found was concerning. It felt like someone forcibly moved the force in the universe to the dark side, corrupting the very nature of the force itself. It made the force unbalanced, subtly changing the universe to worse. How did something of that scale go unnoticed? Did the order really fail so much?

Yoda tried to breach the veil and reach for the light side hidden behind, hoping to put an end to this perversion. Maybe he would be able to repair the damage, bringing back the natural state.

He was putting as much of the force as he could, but the veil wouldn't vanish. It felt like the force itself was fighting against him, unwilling to return to the previous deeply saddened Yoda, as it showed how deeply ran the damage caused by the sith.

He didn't give up though. He gave everything he had, pushing his presence into the veil, trying to pierce through it. He was barely holding on, being violently pushed back by the vortex of energy.

For a second, he felt that he was able to break through. He felt the light side flowing to him. It was the most potent feeling he felt in centuries, making him realise the scope of the change. But then it ended, the veil closing again. The force returned to its weakened state.

He lost. He wasn't able to do anything.

He spent the next hour sitting on the ground, exhausted and defeated. He could see the problem, but he knew he couldn't do anything to solve it.

The veil of the dark force wasn't the complete mystery. It was known to the order, but no one knew how to fight against it anymore. It came from the fact that the Jedi lost many once known techniques, deeming them unnecessary after defeating the sith and bringing peace to the galaxy. Or so they thought.

And now they were paying the price.

Yoda sighed, only now realising how much the order lost to history and how much they devolved. Maybe the order needed to change? He started to doubt they would be able to survive otherwise.

"You seem to have a lot on your mind" came the female voice from behind him. Yoda looked at the source, finding nothing. He furrowed his brows. He was the only one in the cell, with the nearest guard being two rooms away.

He focused, reaching into the force. There was someone there, invisible to the naked eye, but present in the force. Yoda knew what was happening.

"Honored to meet such a distinguished guest I am" she replied. It was a force spirit, a person from the past, who was using the forgotten force technique to communicate with the living. Based on her presence, she was a Jedi, powerful one. Was she there to express her disappointment with the current council? He wouldn't blame her.

"I am no one special, we are all the same in the force" she replied with a smile. He could see her figure now. She was a young mirialan. She was slim and tall, with long straight hair falling on her shoulders. "I am here, because you were able to pierce the veil, even if only a little, allowing me to slip through"

She approached him and sat beside him. She then looked him in the eyes.

"But where are my manners?" She said, "I am Selleana Myr, the Barsen'thor and we need to talk"