A Heart Full of Stars ★ Obi-Wan Kenobi

Chapter 27

The next day, Koral was back at the Jedi Council, rested and in perfect health, except for a few details. She arrived, as usual, late, and seemed to lack her usual optimism. She sat down in her chair, but did not give Obi-Wan a single glance, and he was somewhat offended.

-Thank you for joining us, Master Nova. We weren't expecting you," Windu said somewhat sarcastically.

-You're welcome.

-Let us begin," Yoda said when the room was finally quiet.

The meeting went smoothly, with Koral ignoring Obi-Wan all the way through but still actively participating in the discussion. When it was over, Obi-Wan gave her a heavy stare, hoping that she would decide to talk about the droid factory, and to his surprise, she did. She finally looked at Obi-Wan, who smiled warmly at her, but she immediately turned away when their eyes met.

But the response from the rest of the council was not what they had expected. Sending a Jedi just to verify the information seemed too dangerous, and most members objected to the mission. Offended, Obi-Wan exclaimed:

-If we can stop droid production, the Separatists will be outnumbered very quickly! Just send a team to destroy a poor factory.

-Risking lives for a rumour heard in the city? No, it's not worth it at all. We're already on the verge of winning the war, we don't need to sacrifice our Jedi to get the job done," Windu replied.

-We are not winning at all! At this rate, the war will last forever. And if we don't seize these kinds of opportunities, the enemy will. They don't hesitate to sacrifice troops for their cause.

-Yes, but we are not like the enemy. Jedi lives have value.

-You want to lose the war?!

-Maybe we should," Koral offered gently.

Everyone fell silent and turned to her as if she had just said something completely insane.

-Nova?" Yoda hesitated.

-We're fighting an enemy whose identity we don't even know. His movements are impossible to decipher while ours are completely predictable. We'll never win at this rate. We must do something they won't expect. We have to set a trap for them.

-Lose," Obi-Wan muttered. They expect us to fight to the end. They've been letting us win all along!

-If they win, their commander, our real enemy, the Sith, will reveal himself and we'll just have to pick him off.

-Yes, but Koral," Windu replied. It would mean letting them into Galactic City. To abandon the entire galaxy for a trap that has a low probability of working.

Koral paused for a moment before finally saying:

-Yes. We'll have to let them take control of Galactic-City; if they don't already have it.

-It's all conspiracy theory," Maoya Lenn muttered. Soon we'll be told that Yoda was the Sith all along.

-It's our duty to consider all possibilities," he replied.

-So, we'll just... Give up the war?" Obi-Wan stammered.

-We'll think about it first," Windu replied.

With that, the Council closed, and everyone went their separate ways. Koral left without giving Obi-Wan a single glance, and he was a little disappointed. He hesitated to go after her but resigned himself to going to Anakin's house to take his mind off things.

Koral returned home quickly, as if in a panic. She finally entered her quarters and slid against the door when it was closed. She tried to clear her head but heard footsteps coming towards her in the hallway. She did not look up; she knew perfectly well who it was.

-Fight it or accept it. Fear it or control it," the mischievous voice of an old man mumbled to her.

-Can you please stop talking in riddles?" she said, looking up at her interlocutor.

-Your power, the one that comes from your hatred. Let it invade you, use it. With that strength, you can become the most powerful Jedi and finally get your revenge.

-Oh, we still consider me a Jedi?" Koral asked, standing up menacingly.

-You really don't want to let me create a dramatic moment," Palpatine grumbled.

She sighed and rolled hereyes before walking away to get something to eat.