CHAPTER 14 INCOMING!
This is the second to last chapter of the Citadel Arc. I feel I can call it with fairly good certainty.
I'm going to see Star Wars Ep 9 next Wednesday. Time to see how they decide to end this saga. I have very little love for episode 7 and 8 but Disney have got their claws in me, I still have to see number 9 ;)
How about we get straight into comments:
-RKF22: Thanks a lot! I'm happy you're enjoying it. I was always a bit unsatisfied with how some of these character deaths were brought on but I'm glad to hear they had an effect on you. Ultimately yes, the mission does come first, and not always for the better. Obi-Wan's fight is reaching its crescendo, by the end, he should have learned a valuable lesson. The master never ceases to be a student ;) May the Force be with you!
-Quiyes: It warms my heart to hear you say that! This entire fanfic was started because I felt there weren't any good fanfics that focused on old Ben surviving the Death Star; it seemed to be more of Obi-Wan being sent back in time to the Clone Wars to fix things (love it too, but old Ben is epic also).
It just made sense to have Obi-Wan maintain his training continue improving his skills. Of course, physically he's getting older but his abilities with the Force have gotten sharper and better. The trick is now to find the right balance between making him a very powerful Jedi Master but also making sure there are foes that can give him a hard time. He deals with his aging body a lot like Dooku or Yoda, using the Force to enhance his movements and his agility when he needs to.
I'm really excited to bring Yoda into the picture :). He's my dude and I love him so much as a character. Hopefully, I can find a balance between the mischievous and "nutty" Yoda of episode 5 and the wiser and pragmatic Yoda from the Clone Wars.
I get a lot of questions about all the supporting characters that could be brought in. I'm down for it but I need to find a way to weave them into the narrative and hopefully make them come back later on. I'm going to play Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order at Christmas, so maybe Cal Kestis and Cere will make an appearance. Concerning the other characters, you mentioned, I can't say I know enough about them to well integrate them into the story, unfortunately. Sorry.
Thank you for all your encouragement, and don't worry, I am planning quite a long adventure for dear Obi-Wan ;)
- Alfa123: you ask; I deliver :)
- WolfbrotherTitan: I also think it's interesting when Jedi are confronted and maybe even experience the Dark Side. After watching the final episodes of Clone Wars the TV series, Yoda seems to suggest that HE once experimented with the Dark Side. That very notion is fascinating to me and it can be a testament to a Jedi's power that he saw first-hand what the Dark Side could give him and decided "no, this is not the way".
-Destrark: oh for sure the scene between Maul and Obi-Wan happened years before A New Hope. Luke was basically a child back then. But that's what's fun with a fanfiction, you can play around with chronology. Don't worry, I'm aware it happened way before.
The whole thing with Obi-Wan's age and his Force abilities always left me a bit unsatisfied. If we consider the amount of time that passes between ep 3 and 4, he certainly wouldn't be in his prime anymore, but he'd still be super powerful, even more so if we continued his training.
I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Excited to hear any more feedback you have!
Those are all the questions from last chapter, so let's just get to it. As always, please favorite, comment and follow.
Rex hated standoffs. An obvious position, but this particular situation reaffirmed it with painful clarity. On one side, the Imperials who had killed Plorg, and on the other, the Rebels who were holding the commander of the Citadel hostage. A potent and unstable mix that could blow up at any point.
"All of you put your weapons down! NOW!" June screamed at the Imperials. Poin barely had any room to speak; the hairpin was dangerously close to his throat.
The Stormtroopers glanced uncertainly towards the Death Troopers who kept their rifles trained on the Rebels. The two Death Troopers who were guarding the entrance had entered after hearing the commotion. It was now five Death Troopers and seven Stormtroopers against six Rebels.
"Don't test me, bucketheads!" June eyes were murderous. "I won't hesitate."
"You don't know what you're bargaining with," Poin managed to speak, chuckling softly. "My vitals are tied to the Citadel's self-destruct system. Kill me, and no one gets off this planet alive."
"You're bluffing." June ground out, millimeters away from Poin's ear.
"If you care so little for the lives of your men, by all means, see if I am." Poin spoke maliciously. His snake-like smile disappeared when June connected her fist with his nose; shattering it and causing it to bleed onto his uniform and her wrist.
"And you believe me when I say there's plenty I can do to you that would make you wish you were dead." June's tone was so cold and devoid of its earlier calm and wit, it genuinely worried Rex.
"Lieutenant," the Clone spoke up to get her attention. "For now, we're at a standstill. Let me try to locate Cody and then we can decide what to do next."
June stayed silent for several seconds. Rex could see her shoulder rise and drop evenly as she drew several calming breaths. When she spoke again, Rex was happy to see a glimpse of her normal self:
"Alright, Rex. Do what you have to do. Everyone else, start moving towards us."
The other Rebels did as they were told. Kochew and Rynthan used the cart as cover and moved it over to Plorg's body. The Wookie avoided looking at him as she picked him up with one arm and placed him on the cart, all while keeping the Imperials in her sights.
Markin and Katerina carefully extricated themselves from the Stormtrooper's midst to stand beside the others. They were now facing the Imperials in a half-circle formation, back facing the large glass window.
Rex moved closer to the Imperial technicians, picking his helmet off the holotable and placing it on his head.
"Where's Cody?" he asked, his tone warning for an immediate answer. "Where's the Clone you brought here?"
From the various looks the technicians gave each other, and the way some looked over to Poin who stayed silent, Rex could already tell who was going to spill the beans.
He fired a dramatic shot a couple of inches away from one of them, hitting the back of the chair he'd been sitting in.
"The next one'll be on your forehead," Rex spoke, trying to sound as inhuman and uncompassionate as possible. "Where. Is. The Clone."
One of the more courageous and foolish technicians, stepped forward, head raised in defiance.
"We'd rather die than reveal anything to you, Rebel sc— "
His sentence was cut short by a blaster bolt to his kneecap that sent him to the ground. Any other defiant looks were quickly wiped off the other technicians' faces.
Rex took another step forward, standing on the edge of the pits.
"Anyone else want to be a hero?" he asked rhetorically, heightening the menace in his voice. "I'm done playing. Maybe if I kill a couple of you, you'll understand I'm being serious."
Rex aimed his blaster at the prone technician who was holding his wounded knee. He deliberately placed his finger on the trigger and let out an internal sigh of relief when someone yelled:
"No! Don't hurt him! I'll show you where he is."
The speaker was a young man, no older than Luke, with tufts of curly blond hair poking out from under his beret. He had a dash of freckles that ran along his cheeks and over his nose, paired with striking blue eyes and a fresh cut on the side of his chin.
"You damn traitor." the wounded technician spat out before Rex silenced him with a stun round.
Rex did the same with all the others, leaving the young technician surrounded by the unconscious bodies of his comrades.
"Do it." Rex stated simply.
As the boy busied himself behind his console, Rex shot a quick glance over his shoulder. The Death Troopers were like statues. He could swear they had barely even flinched since this whole standoff started. This was in stark contrast to the Stormtroopers who were slowly losing their nerve.
"Her he is."
Rex turned back to the technician who moved aside to show him the security footage of a man in a cell, dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit. The footage was poor, but when he raised his head, Rex could make out the scar he would recognize anywhere. It was Cody.
Rex glanced at the information of the video. It indicated it was from cell 4222.
"You did good, kid." he stated simply before stunning him as well.
Rex returned to June's side and whispered:
"I know where he is. We need to get to the fourth level."
"Easier said than done." June muttered, staring dispassionately at who was between them and the exit.
Obi-Wan was struggling; struggling to channel the immense power at his disposal. This was his first time using such an intense Force technique and he was spending a lot of energy trying to control it.
The Inquisitors were fighting defensively, using their spinning blades to keep Obi-Wan from getting an opening. They occasionally dashed forward with a quick attack which he parried easily but managed to keep him off-balance. He was unable to steady his mind and bring this power under his control as he had done before.
"You are weak, Jedi," the Seventh Sister taunted. "Like all your fallen kind, you have no idea how to truly wield the power of the Force."
She thought she could distract him with taunts, but Obi-Wan had spent his entire life priding himself on wielding words as effectively as a lightsaber. If she hoped to fell his concentration, she'd have to do better than that.
"My dear, I feel you should be teaching your colleague how to truly wield the Force's power, not me." Obi-Wan replied casually, cocking his head towards the mutilated corpse of the Eighth Brother.
The Seventh Sister seethed and was about to respond, but the Fifth Brother's hard-hitting baritone prevented her:
"Calm yourself, Sister. This is part of his tactic. He wishes for you to lose focus so you commit a mistake. Do not fall for his tricks."
Obi-Wan shot an even look at the Fifth Brother. In addition to being the most powerful of the three (well, the two now), his calm demeanor and formal delivery reminded him of Count Dooku. Both seemed to possess a superiority complex that wouldn't allow them to stoop to the "rabble's" level.
Obi-Wan took several steps to the left, deftly swinging his lightsaber in his right hand. The Inquisitors matched his movements, keeping their spinning blades in front of them.
With a speed that caught Obi-Wan off guard, the Fifth Brother ran towards Obi-Wan, pointing his lightsaber at his head to skewer him. With barely an inch to spare, the Jedi Master deflected the hit but he could still feel the heat of the red blade as it skimmed his skull by less than an inch.
On the edge of his peripheral vision, Obi-Wan could see something moving towards him… something… RED!
Obi-Wan jerked his whole body backward to avoid the Seventh Sister's swing at his midsection. Unfortunately, he did not have the same luck as before. The previous strike had missed him by less than an inch, but this one cut less than an inch into his flesh.
Obi-Wan felt a burning sensation on his left side and quickly jumped away from the two Inquisitors. He glanced down and saw a red stain that surrounded a charred gash in his tunic. The Jedi Master's mind was in a complete haze as he approached the end of his reserves of Living Force energy.
He instinctively relied on his years of combat experience to locate the source of the pain. He pinpointed its origin and intensity as precisely as he could and all at once; released it into the Force. Like letting out a deep breath, or taking shoes off after a long walk. The pain just disappeared, granting him renewed clarity.
The two Inquisitors were slowly moving towards him, keeping their spinning lightsabers up at all times. Obi-Wan tightened his grip on his lightsaber and profiled his body behind it to offer a smaller target.
"You grow weak, Jedi," the Seventh Sister cooed sadistically. "Your pathetic powers are nothing compared to the might of the Dark Side."
Obi-Wan scoffed at her words, barely hiding the contempt in his voice:
"I've seen what the Dark Side has to offer, and I've seen what happens to those who are tempted by it. All I see are victims of an evil dictator who cares for no one but himself. And in the end, they were destroyed by what they thought would grant them power."
"This power is what will end you, Jedi." the Fifth Brother snarled, his calm façade falling away.
"Strike me down, and I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine." Obi-Wan stared them down defiantly, pointing the end of his lightsaber towards them.
Obi-Wan was trying to think of a way to end this fight, but he could think of nothing besides the obvious. He was ready to give his life here, he always had, but he now had people relying on him. Not just on this planet, but also back with the Rebel Alliance. Luke, Leia, Ahsoka… He couldn't die here.
Surely, there must be another way. I have to try…
"Do or do not. There is no try. Do you remember those words, Obi-Wan?"
It can't be…
"We are nearly there," Inuzo whispered as she looked around the corner. "This is the last push."
She had essentially taken over command of Beta team from Muna, who was still deeply affected by the loss of the twins. Inuzo knew she felt responsible for what happened, as the leader of the team. Nerrown was even quieter and more reserved than usual.
Inuzo shared her teammates' sorrow over the deaths of Yva and Ova, but unlike them, she'd been trained to never dwell on losses. She did not think it was a lack of compassion, she'd simply been taught that crying and feeling depressed was no way to honor the dead; and dying yourself when someone else had given their lives for you, was an even greater offense.
Inuzo will always remember the twins and their prowess in combat; even the "practical jokes" they sometimes tried to pull on her. She would perhaps allow herself to reminisce when the mission was over, but right now was not the time.
"There are no guards outside the command center," she relayed to the other. "Strange."
Inuzo carefully approached the door, Muna and Nerrown following her closely. She took off her large circular hat, which had taken a beating from their earlier encounter, and laid her ear against the door.
"I think I hear the Captain!" Inuzo whispered sharply to the others who quickly squeezed in next to her to listen in.
"Son of a Bantha," Muna muttered in disbelief. "What the hell are they doing here? The command center was OUR objective!"
"It doesn't sound like they're there because they want to," Nerrown said. "Sounds like they're in a standoff with the Imps."
"Can you make out how many Imperials there are?" Inuzo asked.
Nerrown stayed silent for several seconds, scrunching his features in concentration.
"I can hear one guy talking who I don't recognize, but no other Imps seem to be saying anything."
"Then that means that it won't be long before someone loses their cool," Muna spoke gravely. "We've got go in."
"We need a plan first," Inuzo spoke calmly. She sat cross-legged on the floor, head lowered in concentration. "Attacking headfirst is not an experience I want to reiterate."
Nerrown and Muna caught her innuendo and nodded. Caution was the one behavior they could all agree they needed right now.
"You got anything useful, gasbag?" Muna asked Nerrown who gave her a dispassionate stare at her choice of name.
"Plenty," he answered as he rummaged through his satchel. "From deadly to knockout to smoke screen. But I don't need to bring up the obvious problem, right?"
"There isn't anything that would just affect the Imperials?" Inuzo asked.
The silence that followed made both women's eyes widen as they stared at Nerrown. Inuzo had not asked the question seriously, more out of habit. There's no way he has that…
"I HAVE been working on something…" Nerrown spoke cautiously. "I believe I've isolated a particular crystal that is used in the filtration system of Stormtrooper helmets. I have a knockout gas that theoretically would only activate when in contact with said crystal. Though I've never been able to properly test it."
"Looks like you're getting your chance," Muna spoke with an excited grin. "What are we waiting for let's go—"
"Keep going, Nerrown." Inuzo cut her off, not moving from her seated position. There was no such thing as a perfect solution.
"The fact it hasn't been tested," Nerrown continued. "Means it's entirely possible it will either affect our guys or just flat out not work. For all we know, the Imperials have upgraded to a new filtration system, or maybe they have people in there who aren't wearing masks. And there's also the fact that we have one person on our team who is constantly wearing a helmet with a filtration system."
"The Clone," Muna muttered. "That doesn't matter. We're not putting the others' lives at risk over some newly arrived Clone."
"If he ends up being knocked out, that means we'll have to dedicate one or two people to carry him," Inuzo said. "It will slow us down and make the other Clone much less likely to trust us if we show up with the drugged body of his friend."
Another moment of silence passed over the group. Every second felt agonizingly painful since they knew that at any moment, the situation on the other side of that door could turn into a bloodbath.
After ten painfully long seconds, Inuzo spoke:
"Here is what I propose..."
"If he dies, we all die," June's tone was halfway between a yell and a growl. "Let us pass; you get to live, and can try to catch us later."
As before, her calls for a peaceful resolution fell on deaf ears. The Death Troopers didn't budge; their rifles stayed pointed towards the Rebels.
Rex was starting to feel like they were just delaying an aggressive negotiation. Even Poin wasn't trying to bargain for his life.
"Save your breath, captain," Poin said his words slurred from having his throat constricted by June. "Those Death Troopers are the Inquisitor's personal guards. They take their orders straight from the Emperor. Negotiation is not in their mandate."
"And you're fine with that?" June asked. "Dying with a hairpin stuck in your throat because these guys weren't willing to be reasonable."
Poin let out a short chuckle. He cast an inscrutable gaze over the five Death Troopers.
"I don't care about their mission," he spoke slowly. "Ever since they arrived here, it has caused me nothing but headaches and humiliation. The Emperor's entire plan here is dangerously obsessive, and if it were up to me, I'd have the Inquisitors and those Death Troopers shipped out of here and make sure that Clone is put to good use."
Poin inhaled the blood from his nose into his mouth with a disgusting retch, and spit it out onto the floor.
"However, I know where my loyalties lie. And if I must give up my life for the Empire, I will do it gladly. I'd never let myself become a pawn to be bartered with."
As Poin finished his monologue, Rex saw the Imperials grip their weapons a little tighter. They were only seconds away from…
BLAM!
An explosion blasted the door of the command center off its frame, sending it flying into the two Stormtroopers who were standing in front of it. Several canisters were thrown in through the open door, which started releasing large wisps of white gas that filled the room. As this all happened, Kochew and Rynthan flipped the weapons cart on its side to take cover behind it, while Rex and June dove for cover behind the holotable.
The Death Troopers and the Stormtroopers that were still standing opened fire at the Rebels, mercilessly cutting down Markin and Katerina who didn't have time to find cover. They managed to kill two Stormtroopers and wound one Death Troopers before they dropped to the ground; dead.
Inuzo and Muna, both equipped with special goggles that could see through the smoke, entered the command center, ready for battle. Muna quickly dispatched the remaining Stormtroopers with several spirts from her automatic blasters, while Inuzo threw her shield at the closest Death Trooper and prepared to finish him off with a blaster shot to the head.
Unfortunately, she'd underestimated their level of training, and that their helmets were also equipped with lenses that allowed them to see through smoke. The Death Trooper punched the gun out of her hand and threw a punch at her stomach.
With incredible nimbleness, Inuzo spun to avoid the strike, grabbed" the Death Trooper's wrist, and retaliated with a kick directly to his helmet. She then brought her foot down onto the arm she was holding, breaking the Death Trooper's arm in half.
From there, she wrapped both her arms around his neck and snapped it in one swift, surgical motion. She had been surprised by his initial resilience, but he never stood a chance against her in hand to hand combat.
The three remaining Death Troopers opened fire on Inuzo. One shot grazed her arms before she was able to use her hat to protect Muna and herself. The other Rebels were now returning fire as the smoke started to clear, but the three Death Troopers weren't interested in a fight.
As they forced Inuzo and Muna to back away from the door, they used the opening to make a run out of the command center.
Muna moved to chase them, but June stopped her:
"Do not pursue," she ordered, doing her best to wrestle Poin who was trying to break out of her grip. "We need to regroup and finish the mission. Someone bring me some binders."
Muna paused for a couple seconds in front of the open door before she spat on the body of the Death Trooper Inuzo had killed and turned back to help her friends. As she did, Nerrown stuck his head through the jamb with a nervous look.
"Are they dead?"
"Almost," Muna replied. She upholstered her blaster and shot the wounded Death Trooper who was trying to get up. "We're good."
Inuzo helped June get Poin in some binders, adding a gag for good measure. Rex offered to keep an eye on him as everyone else gathered at the center of the room, beside the bodies of Markin and Katerina.
June looked over to Kochew who quietly placed Plorg's body next to his comrades'. Muna and Inuzo both produced the twins' weapons. They placed Yva's daggers and Ova's spiked chain next to each other, between Markin and Katerina.
June drew a shaky breath, tears brimming in her eyes. She couldn't look away from her fallen comrades as she spoke:
"Today, we say farewell to five of the bravest and greatest soldiers I have ever had the pleasure of fighting with. They all believed that this galaxy was meant to be free and just, so they fought for that ideal, and in the end, made the ultimate sacrifice to uphold it…"
June voice cracked slightly. Muna laid a comforting hand on her back, rubbing in small circles as she gently stroked the braids on her Iekku.
"It is now our solemn duty to see this mission through to the end," she spoke, once her voice was steady. "We WILL finish this mission, we WILL free the galaxy from the Empire's grip, and when our times come, whenever it may be, we WILL all be reunited."
June finally looked up from her fallen friends and saw that the others were all nodding. Rynthan was patting Kochew on the shoulder, who had her arm draped around his neck. Inuzo simply placed her hand on Nerrown's shoulder as he wept softly.
"May the Force be with them."
They all muttered agreement and slowly started to break the circle, returning their minds to the mission at hand. The sadness and grief were slowly replaced by focus and a thirst for revenge.
June approached Rex who was keeping Poin on his knees; blaster pointed at his skull.
"What do we do with him?" she asked half to herself, half to Rex. "He feels like just the kind of nutcase who'd rig his vitals to the self-destruct system, but keeping him with us will only slow us down."
"We don't have much of a choice," Rex answered. "He could still be a bargaining tool with his men. We should split up. I can go rescue Cody by myself. The garrison is in shambles; they won't be chasing us for at least a little while. You and the others free the prisoners, get them a transport and signal the Twilight for a pickup."
June nodded. Not so much in agreement, more to show she was listening.
"Not to mention our Jedi friend is still out there," she managed to inject a little sarcasm into her words. "We'll have to contact him to figure out a pickup spot. We'll break comms silence, but only at the last minute, in case the Empis are listening."
Rex nodded and followed June as she clapped her hands to get the attention of her platoon.
"Alright listen up," she was about to continue but caught herself when she looked at Poin. She gestured over to Kochew who walked over to him and placed her large paws over his ears.
June cracked a sly grin, happy to further damage the man's ego, before continuing:
"As I was saying, we're carrying on with the mission. Despite having had two teams with very different objectives, we somehow all ended up in the same spot. This time, there won't be any such mistakes. We now hold all the cards."
Saying this, June pressed a button on the holotable next to her, projecting a map of the Citadel, outlaying every single detail of its layout.
"Right now we're here, in the command center," June gestured to the top of the spire which blinked red. "Our objectives from here are to liberate the asset, free the other prisoners, make sure they have a ship to escape on and exfiltrate the entire team once the first two objectives are completed."
Seeing that she had no questions or comments, June continued:
"The landing pads are here," she pointed to a large platform suspended over a gigantic lava lake at the foot of the Citadel. "This feels like the safest bet for finding a ship for the prisoners and for the Twilight to land for our exfil. We'll be killing two birds with one stone. Rex will go rescue the asset, while we free the prisoners, and we'll all rendezvous with Juno at the landing pads."
"What about the Jedi?" Kochew growled.
"We'll have to pick him up after. He won't respond to a transmission now; he's got his hands full. We'll contact him as soon as we're aboard the Twilight."
"What about him?" Rynthan asked, gesturing towards Poin.
"We have to take him with us. He's still a valuable hostage."
The other commandos made slight sounds of disgust at the idea but ultimately they knew they didn't have much choice.
"This is the final battle," June spoke slowly, locking eyes with each one of her comrades. "No one else dies today."
As everyone nodded in agreement, June spoke the words that had become a mantra of the Rebel Alliance and all those who longed for freedom:
"May the Force be with you."
Obi-Wan could not believe his eyes. It wasn't that what he was seeing was impossible, he'd seen it before. There was just no way it was happening here and at this moment, but somehow, it was.
Qui-Gon Jinn's Force ghost was standing in front of him, dressed in his familiar Jedi robes and sporting that good-natured, knowing smile, that many people said Obi-Wan inherited from him.
The Inquisitors seemed to be frozen in time. Both them and their spinning lightsabers had stopped moving, but Obi-Wan could also feel he was in the same situation.
Wait… no, it's something else…
While Obi-Wan's body truly was stuck in place, lightsaber in hand, just like the Inquisitors, he was now a Force ghost. Looking down at his hands and body, he saw they were a pale blue color and he could see the ground through his feet. Obi-Wan also realized he had both his arms. He held up and stared at his left hand with curiosity but also with anxiety about what this all meant for him.
"Strange, isn't it?" Qui-Gon asked with a smirk.
"It's been years, Qui-Gon," Obi-Wan spoke slowly, trying to get all his questions in order. "How are you here? Why now?"
"The strong Force connection you achieved here pushed away the darkness long enough for me to appear here. Unfortunately, I won't be able to keep this up for long."
"I am surrendering myself to the Force, Qui-Gon. I'm giving it everything yet I'm unable to draw upon its power."
"You know for a fact you gave yourself in completely to the living Force?" Qui-Gon asked with a knowing smile. Obi-Wan immediately knew he was being rhetorical.
"I've freed my mind and body; let them become one with the Force. As though I were dying and returning to the Living Force, except for the fact I am still very much alive."
"Yes," Qui-Gon confirmed curtly. He took several steps around the barren wasteland of Lola Sayu. "This technique relies on complete and utter surrender to the will of the Force. It is one few Jedi have been able to master to its full potential because they are always holding back the most important part."
Obi-Wan stayed silent. As with Master Yoda, he had no wish to ask the obvious question, and he knew Qui-Gon would answer it anyway.
"You surrender your body. You surrender your mind. What could possibly be left?"
Obi-Wan paused, thinking hard about what Qui-Gon could be referring to. What was there other than mind and body?
Suddenly, the answer popped into Obi-Wan's mind and he'd spoken it before even fully understanding what it meant:
"The heart."
"Exactly," Qui-Gon nodded with a smile. "Jedi are always taught to have perfect mastery of their emotions; even to repress some them. This makes it impossible for them to fully surrender to the living Force. Remember the journey I took you on all those years ago?"
How could he not? Those couple days had opened his eyes to the true power and beauty of the Force, independent from the Jedi or the Sith. Meeting the Force Priestesses, facing a dark reflection of himself and being confronted with the ultimate temptation of the Dark Side, had all been trials he had faced and emerged from victorious.
"You, myself and Yoda are the only Jedi in history to have ever learned to maintain their individuality after death," Qui-Gon continued. "For thousands of years, the Jedi Order was convinced that such a thing was impossible. Just imagine everything else they could have been wrong about."
Obi-Wan wanted to chalk this all up to Qui-Gon being Qui-Gon, disagreeing with the Jedi Order and the Council at every turn, but he could not dismiss his logic. If the Jedi had known that maintaining one's individuality after death was possible, the Sith would never have risen again. No matter how many Jedi Sidious would have killed in Order 66, they would only become more powerful through the Living Force.
Obi-Wan imagined Mace Windu, Ki-Adi-Mundi or Plo Koon as Force ghosts; how powerful they would have been. What about others like… Siri Tachi or… could Anakin have… No!
Obi-Wan banished these fantasies from his mind. Retracing that dark path would not help him now. Qui-Gon was right. He had to accept that the Jedi Order was not all-knowing and it was possible certain key details about the Force had escaped them.
"Surrender your heart, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon's voice grew fainter as his Force ghost began to disappear. "The current state of the galaxy is because we never understood the power of the heart."
Obi-Wan watched as his former master slowly disappeared, and as he did, time resumed. The Inquisitors continued to charge at Obi-Wan, their eyes flaring a sickly yellow as they went in for the kill.
Obi-Wan matched their crazed eyes with his clear grey-blue ones and finally surrendered his heart to the Force.
All right I'm done!
The penultimate chapter of the Citadel Arc is over. Please tell me what you think in the comments, and favorite and follow if you enjoyed!
Thank you so much for your continuing support and may the Force be with you!