Turn Left

Peace

Obi-Wan awoke to an alert, there was text flashing at his eyes; MESSAGE FROM BAIL ORGANA. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he rolled out of his bed at the Jedi Temple. He hit play and a small image of Bail Organa appeared before him.

"My friend, I've just received a notice, all senators before the Republic have been asked to attend a meeting at the Senate, labeled most urgent from Naval Intelligence. I can only guess it comes from Admiral Tarkin himself. It hasn't said what exactly this meeting is about, but I have heard rumours from sector 507 that it's about holding the Jedi accountable for the murder of the Supreme Chancellor. If I were you, and I am not, I would go on vacation, or take a trip out of Coruscant, see some friends. May the force be with you."

The image turned off, and darkened the room. Not a man to waste time, he reached for his saber and contacted Rex. Not many words needed to be said, both suspected their time on the planet was numbered, and it was time to go. Obi-Wan called in a favour to an old friend and told them he was going on vacation, with a wink he received two tickets off world. He hated goodbyes, but this felt more like a "see you around". He could do nothing to help. Not here. Sometimes the best action, was no action, he trusted in the Force and hoped that would be enough.

His thoughts drifted of his final discussion with Mace, out of all the Jedi on the council, Mace took the war the hardest. He seemed to have aged decades in the 5 months he and Anakin were in the Outer Rim. Where there was once exuberance, there was nothing but cynicism. Where there was hope, was despair.

He was right, Obi-Wan had not been on Coruscant near the end of the Clone Wars, being on the planet again he could sense a deep seated darkness that had crept into every nook and cranny of the planet. It had not subsided, it was so present that he could nearly taste it. When he and Anakin had landed on the planet he could feel it. Mace had been through a lot, with nearly losing his former Padawan, losing faith in the Republic, in democracy, he was already taking himself down a dark path, and war changes people. It had changed Obi-Wan, and as much as Obi-Wan tried to blind himself to it, it had changed Anakin. Obi-Wan remembered so many nights trying to cheer up his former Padawan, and sometimes he would smile but it wouldn't seem to warm his eyes. Obi-Wan rubbed a chill off of his arms walking out into the hall, leaving most of his few possessions behind, as was his way. Obi-Wan stopped to look around the quarters that he and Anakin shared for a lifetime. He smiled to himself, usually a Padawan once he was made a Jedi knight would go on their own way. No not usually, always Obi-Wan reminded himself. Obi-Wan was just as attached to Anakin as he was to his friends.

Taking a final inventory of the room he turned around, shut off the light, and closed the door and was sure to make sure it didn't look like he was was leaving on a long trip.

Bail Organa didn't need to spell it out when he said friends, Jedi didn't have many friends in the Republic anymore. But Obi-Wan had more friends than most, but there was one person he couldn't wait to see. Obi-Wan was a conservative Jedi, a stickler for the rules, a hard liner, a stick in the mud. But training Anakin brought out a light from Obi-Wan, being with him reminded him of being with Qui-Gon. He was no longer his padawan, but still his attachment remained. Jedi were not perfect beings, and it was a constant struggle with every member to let go of their attachments, but some were more stubborn than most.

It had been a long time since the last time he had been to Naboo, it still had many painful memories that occasionally felt just as fresh as they did over a decade ago. He greeted the slightly humid air that met him on the space dock after a long voyage, and was met with the slightly perfumed air of the gardens near by. Naboo was a popular vacation getaway, and no one would notice a man and his friend going to the beautiful and lush planet to get away from the hustle and bustle of the never ending city. Just perfect Obi-Wan thought.

To most people, Naboo was one of the most beautiful planets in the galaxy, a popular resort for vacation for some of the most elite and wealthy in the galaxy, but Obi-Wan wasn't most people. To him, Naboo was always the planet that stole his master from him, what made him the Jedi he was. He told himself it was impossible to still be able to feel Darth Maul's presence on the planet, but he could, it was similar to the feeling of a drafty cave. It gave him a slight chill, which caused him to pull on his cloak. Obi-Wan hadn't thought what he would say once he saw his former Padawan, what could he say. It seemed like Rex was reading his mind, "Sir, I'm sure Skywalker would be excited to hear from you. I rarely saw you two apart"

Obi-Wan's eyes lit up at the name, "No, we don't work well apart I'm afraid." Obi-Wan's eyes drifted out towards the small porthole window, "Not at all..."

Not far from where Obi-Wan had slept all his life, deep underside Coruscant something lay dormant for nearly 1000 years, nearly a secret. The truth on a datacron, in the archives untouched for hundreds of years tucked away in a long since forgotten section. The Jedi unaware, that their home, and their lives were living on top of the ghosts of the past, and underneath them lay a spring. A nondescript spring, but inside it lay great power. Power that Darth Sidious, and Darth Plagueis had used to cloud the visions of the Jedi, tapping into its great power they were able to hide in plain sight, Sidious, wearing the mask of the incorruptible, and stoic Senator Palpatine.

However now, with no one to harness the energy, and it hungry for more it sought out a suitable host. The Jedi had thought they had tapped the fountain, and inside nothing but a useless shell. They were wrong, there was just enough to fester, and multiply inside. A thousand years it had grown, mighty and horrifying. It nearly shrieked in pleasure when a new acolyte came to it, a disciple of the long dead, Darth Bane. Through this acolyte it was able to see the galaxy, and through the galaxy it spread its dark seed. War.

Then the Acolyte didn't see the impossible. The chosen one, he had put all of his resources, cunning and manipulation into that boy. The darkness inside Coruscant saw it all, he saw the boy killing his Jedi colleague, and dropping into darkness and through the acolyte and the boy it would survive. It saw a vision, of darkness, pain, and ashes and it was beautiful. Then he ruined it. Inside the boy remained pure, he saw through the acolyte's mask and saw it for what it was.

The lingering remains of the past filtered past its eons old prison, slowly over hundreds of generations clouding and corrupting the Jedi Order, Coruscant. Gaining a taste for the freedom and power The Acolyte had given it, and the future it had seen it branched out its fingers, caressing, and seeking something to hold on to. The darkness is strong, and it always wins, for there is darkness in everyone's heart. Even a Jedi's.