His Guiding Star (Obi-Wan Kenobi)

Chapter Seventeen

Some time later, Anakin found Obi-Wan alone in the kitchen, a glass of whiskey in his hand. He looked significantly less composed than usual.

"Master?"

Obi-Wan glanced up, smiling weakly at the sight of him.

"Oh, hello, Anakin."

Anakin moved to sit beside him.

"It's likely whilst we've been chasing Dooku and dealing with the Mandalorians, we've slipped through the experiments somehow."

Obi-Wan took a sip of his whiskey, the weariness evident in his eyes.

"It just gets worse and worse with them, doesn't it?" There was confusion on Anakin's face. "Talia confided in me about the torture she'd endured," Obi-Wan continued, his tone filled with a mixture of sadness and determination. "It is a harrowing truth to confront, and my heart breaks for what they have gone through."

Anakin's confusion moved onto concern, then swiftly to fury.

"Master, this...this is unforgivable," his voice was tinged with a righteous indignation. "No child should ever have to endure such horrors. These experiments, these atrocities...they've taken away their innocence, their chance at a normal life."

Obi-Wan thought of what Talia had said before. About how being vulnerable didn't change things. He knew Anakin struggled too. And he knew he was far too tired to be hiding much.

"It feels like I've failed them somehow," he downed the rest of his whiskey, avoiding Anakin's gaze. "If I'd known the truth...if I'd known where to look, maybe they'd have been safe." 

His apprentice folded his arms across his chest.

"I thought Jedi weren't supposed to feel."

Obi-Wan sighed.

"That's all I seem to do."

Especially Talia. Why did it feel like he'd failed her in the most unforgivable way known to man? Why did she feel so familiar? What was wrong with him?

"You're not the only who has failed." There was a softness in Anakin's voice that he rarely saw in him. Obi-Wan forced a smile.

"Thank you, my apprentice," he sighed again. "But Talia's right. What happened to them... it's an abomination, a violation of the Force and all that is sacred. We Jedi are born to protect the light. But this...we never suspected a thing."

"The Jedi didn't suspect a thing cause they were too busy fighting an endless war." Zoe pointed out from her place by the doorway, terrifying both Anakin and Obi-Wan. Anakin leapt five feet into the air.

"Where the Force did you come from?"

"None of your business, Skywalker."

"Anyway," Obi-Wan cut in. "We need to alert the Council about this."

"Our mobilizing will alert the perpetrators," Zoe argued, while Anakin slowly inched out of the room. "The Council is better off knowing when the collective is down, because then I can get more info."

"Who knows what they'll have done to the kids by then?" Obi-Wan fired back. "Who knows how long they've been suffering for already? If we tell the Council, it'll be over." But he knew his last words were a lie.

"What about her?" Zoe asked, hazel eyes flaring. "You know we'll all be hunted down, including her."

"Talia can take care of herself, you said that yourself."

Zoe shook her head in disappointment.

"She was right about you."

"About what? Being a decent person?"