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May 2 - May 9, 2024
Without Palpatine, the Republic will fall.
Though this is the end of the age of heroes, it has saved its best for last.
With each victory of the light, it is the dark that wins.
This is Obi-Wan Kenobi: A phenomenal pilot who doesn’t like to fly. A devastating warrior who’d rather not fight. A negotiator without peer who frankly prefers to sit alone in a quiet cave and meditate.
Greatness was never his ambition. He wants only to perform whatever task he is given to the best of his ability.
Until the possible becomes actual, it is only a distraction. Be mindful of what is, not what might be.”
Because his real fear, in a universe where even stars can die, is that being the best will never be quite good enough.
But for Anakin Skywalker, the completely impossible had an eerie way of being merely difficult.
Anakin and Obi-Wan would never fight each other. They couldn’t. They’re a team. They’re the team. And both of them are sure they always will be.
Funny, he thought. After Ventress, somehow I always expect the dark side to be hot …
“Tell that to the one Obi-Wan left in pieces on Naboo.”
The angrier he got, the more afraid he became, and the fear fed his anger in turn;
Do it!
What is the good, if not the teacher of the bad? What is the bad, if not the task of the good?
“The only reason Palpatine’s not a suspect is because he already rules the galaxy.”
“Skywalker is arguably the most powerful Jedi alive, and he is still getting stronger. But he is not stable. You know it. We all do. It is why he cannot be given Mastership. We must keep him off the Council, despite his extraordinary gifts. And Jedi prophecy … is not absolute. The less he has to do with Palpatine, the better.”
And she is terrified. Because while he has been away, everything has changed. Today, here in the hallway of the Senate Office Building, she brings him news of a gift they have given each other—a gift of joy, and of terror. This gift is the edge of a knife that has already cut their past from their future.
“If I listen hard enough, I can almost hear Qui-Gon reminding me that until the possible becomes actual, it is only a distraction.”
Grievous could hear the smile in his Master’s voice. “All will be clear, once you meet my new apprentice.”
Yoda’s voice was still gentle, and understanding. “The fear of loss is a path to the dark side, young one.”
All that mattered was Mastery. All that mattered was Padmé. This was a gift beyond gifts: as a Master, he could access those forbidden holocrons in the restricted vault. He could find a way to save her from his dream …
“I think,” Obi-Wan said carefully, “that abstractions like peace don’t mean much to him. He’s loyal to people, not to principles. And he expects loyalty in return.
To understand politics is to understand the fundamental nature of thinking beings.
“Evil is a label we all put on those who threaten us, isn’t it?
That is why the Sith are more powerful: they are not afraid to feel.”
“This puts me in mind of an old legend,” Palpatine murmured idly. “Anakin—are you familiar with The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise?”
Not for the first time, Anakin found himself wishing that Obi-Wan could be a little more like the late Qui-Gon.
to do one’s duty is not always to do right. Concern yourself with right action. Let duty take care of itself.
“Farewell, old friend.”
When you don’t sleep, days smear together into a haze of fatigue so deep it becomes a physical pain.
He knew that the inhabitants were near-human, divided into two distinct species, the tall, lordly, slow-moving Utapauns, nicknamed Ancients for their astonishing longevity, and the stubby Utai, called Shorts, both for their stature and for their brief busy lives.
That when he died, Anakin would be with him. How curious, he thought, and then he turned his mind to business.
Mace Windu had almost smiled. “I created Vaapad to answer my weakness: it channels my own darkness into a weapon of the light. Master Yoda’s Ataro is also an answer to weakness: the limitations of reach and mobility imposed by his stature and his age. But for you? What weakness does Soresu answer?”
“So …” He summoned a condemnation among the most offensive in his vocabulary. “… uncivilized.”
“What have I done?”
“Rise, Darth Vader.”
“Execute Order Sixty-Six.”
The Clone Wars have always been, in and of themselves, from their very inception, the revenge of the Sith.
And the clones have no malice, no hatred, not the slightest ill intent that might give warning. They are only following orders.
Twenty-five thousand years wiped from existence in a single day.
We are the first Galactic Empire!” The Senate went wild.
So this is how liberty dies, she was saying to herself. With cheering, and applause.
Even stars burn out.
“You were the chosen one! It was said you would destroy the Sith, not join them. It was you who would bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness. You were my brother, Anakin,” said Obi-Wan Kenobi. “I loved you, but I could not save you.”
“I hate you,” he screamed. Obi-Wan looked down. It would be a mercy to kill him. He was not feeling merciful.
In the end, he was still Obi-Wan Kenobi, and he was still a Jedi, and he would not murder a helpless man. He would leave it to the will of the Force.
“Infinite knowledge …” Yoda shook his head. “Infinite time, does that require.”
The ultimate goal of the Sith, yet they can never achieve it; it comes only by the release of self, not the exaltation of self. It comes through compassion, not greed. Love is the answer to the darkness.
“Like a father you wish to be, young Obi-Wan?” “More an … eccentric old uncle, I think.
The dark is generous, and it is patient, and it always wins—but in the heart of its strength lies weakness: one lone candle is enough to hold it back. Love is more than a candle. Love can ignite the stars.
