82 Conflagration [2/2]

Part 7

Operations room

GAR HQ

Coruscant

When the chaos erupted around him, Obi-Wan was slow to react. Stunned disbelief made him sluggish. His mind whirled in circles, fighting to comprehend the obvious – the conservatives were staging a coup – that was the only explanation.

Yet, even after all that happened, even now that the proof stared him in the face, Obi-Wan struggled to believe it. Jedi turning against the Republic at this time? It was unthinkable, sheer madness!

Only reflexes honed by months of war saved Kenobi. He rose his blade to parry an incoming slash while his mind was still preoccupied with processing the impossible. Obi-Wan slapped away a thrust and stepped back, out of the range of another slash guided by the Force. His mind was finally rebooted by sensing one of his aides – Rhee, a young cheerful Rodian, die behind him.

Kenobi felt like awakening from a dream and walking straight into chaos. He flinched when another man he had been working closely with for more than a month was suddenly snuffed out. A pang of anger was born in his heart and was immediately stroked when Obi-Wan saw from the corner of his eye Telar fall clutching his shoulder.

That brief distraction almost cost him everything. Tiin feinted and Kenobi fell for it. The Force sent him a warning that was barely enough for the former Jedi to jump back. Instead of getting skewered, the tip of Tiin's lightsaber merely burned through Obi-Wan's uniform and left a short stinging burn above his stomach. He had to gain the initiative, break the Jedi Master's rhythm, before the horned man could leverage the upper hand he had.

Kenobi never got the opportunity. A grenade flew his way and Obi-Wan acted without thinking. His hand snapped up, guiding the Force to stop the weapon before it could reach a group of officers taking cover behind a row of consoles in the back of the room. Before Obi-Wan could sent it back, Tiin used the opportunity to push the grenade closer to Kenobi.

It detonated just two meters away from the former Jedi who lived thanks to hastily erected barrier made by the Force itself. However that defense was far from perfect. While it stopped the overpressure wave from turning Obi-Wan's organs into soup, it was less effective against the fragments. Some tore through the barrier and slashed through the green fabric of his uniform. Kenobi staggered back as hot metal slashed through his left side. He had a moment to curse himself for not coming to HQ with his armor on lately, then Tiin was upon him.

The Jedi Master didn't escape the blast unscratched either - his right cheek was a shredded mess and his horns were the proud owners of still smoking pieces of grenade casing. However, the Jedi's armor protected him from any debilitating injuries courtesy of the shrapnel.

Tiin jumped at Kenobi and forced him back before stepping past the former Jedi and made him turn his back to the Cathar soldiers at the door.

The feeling of immediate deadly danger was coming from all around Obi-Wan. It was like the Force was screaming at him loud enough to deafen everyone nearby.

It was quite superficial too. Obi-Wan knew how deep trouble he was in. His wounds were slowing him down, the blood leaking from his left side weakening him with every heartbeat. Not that it mattered right then. Having his back turned to soldiers already aiming to gun him down was more immediate concern. Tiin attacking to keep him in that position was an issue too.

At that moment, Obi-Wan's mid was crystal clear. He parried a stab, pushed away a thrust aimed at his heart and whirled in place, sweeping his lightsaber in an arc around him. The Force guided his blade and allowed him to deflect most of the blaster bolts coming at him. A few missed when he moved away from where the enemy anticipated him to be.

One shot caught him from behind, crisping his left shoulder and making him stumble and fall to his knees. It was a fortunate hit – otherwise Obi-Wan would have ran straight into Tiin's riposte and ended up in two pieces. Instead he barely avoided the Jedi Master's saber.

Kenobi drew on the Force as much as he could and pushed the searing pain away. He rolled away from a blaster barrage, a choking cry escaping from his lips as the shrapnel in his side moved tearing at his flesh.

At least when he jumped on his feet, Obi-Wan had Tiin between him and the enemy soldiers, which spared him from getting shot again. The Jedi Master paused. He looked at Kenobi, then glanced around and winced.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this!" Tiin spat in frustration. "Why did you support the Sith, Obi-Wan?!" The Jedi snapped and advanced towards his wounded opponent.

For a brief moment, Kenobi was back on Mandalore. He was looking at Satine, imagining her dying in his hands. He heard Veil's question. He remembered choosing his wife above his duty as a Jedi.

Then Obi-Wan moved, frantically parrying Tiin's onslaught. Satine's face flashed before Kenobi's eyes. He put everything he had into keeping Tiin's lightsaber away and for a few seconds they were evenly matched. However Obi-Wan was getting weaker, slower. He had to fall back relying in his Soresu's superb defense. That bought him a few more seconds before the Jedi Master dashed boldly at his former comrade and locked their weapons together.

They stayed that way for merely a heartbeat before Obi-Wan's remaining strength failed him and his lightsaber was torn away from his grasp. The Jedi kicked him in the gut and sent him on his knees. A brief look of triumph passed through Tiin's eyes and he stabbed at Kenobi.

Obi-Wan got his good arm up and caught the lightsaber's blade in his hand. He channeled all the Force he could still grasp into his palm and stopped the weapon cold.

Tiin nodded in respect, then kicked Kenobi in the chest and send him crashing on his back.

"This never should have happened, Obi-Wan!" The Jedi Master whispered. "You were one of our best! A beacon of light in this dark galaxy!"

Obi-Wan looked up at Tiin. He was spent.

The Jedi shook his head in regret and slowly walked towards Kenobi.

Obi-Wan closed his eyes and thought about Satine. If he was about to die, he wanted his last thoughts to be about the woman who loved. Thinking about what was happening, about Jedi fighting against Jedi – that was simply too painful. It was testament to his failure.

A hazy image of Satine swam in front of Obi-Wan's mind. He noticed that her hair was un-kept, her eyes were red and puffy from crying.

The angle changed and Satine's image became blurry. She looked different, regal. Her hair was made up and fell like a golden waterfall around her shoulders. Satine was looking at a tall granite pillar, covered with carved up names. His wife took a step closer and gently traced one of them with a finger.

For an instant the vision became a bit clearer and Obi-Wan could recognize his name, standing next to Valentra's. The angle shifted again, and Kenobi saw his wife from the right. Satine was smiling sadly at the monument, because now it was obvious what the pillar was. It was surrounded by four burning cauldrons, each flanked by troopers standing at parade rest as honor guards. Yet, that was merely an afterthought.

Obi-Wan's eyes were drawn to a small bundle in Satine's other hand. She was looking down at it and smiling sadly.

The vision shifted again, coming closer to his wife and Kenobi saw what she was holding close to her heart.

It was a tiny baby, who was smiling at Satine. The child turned his head and looked straight at Obi-Wan. He stared at two sparkling blue eyes just like his own and smiled.

"I'm sorry, Obi-Wan." Tiin's voice shattered the vision.

Kenobi's eyes snapped open and he looked up at the Jedi Master towering above him. Tiin had his lightsaber raised and ready to plunge it in Obi-Wan's heart.

The time seemed to slow down to a crawl. Obi-Wan felt like freezing – a chill the likes of which he hand never felt before crawled through his body. The lights built into the ceiling dimmed, making Tiin appear to be cloaked in shadows, with only his lightsaber chasing off the darkness.

Obi-Wan stared at the descending weapon. It's light became blinding and all he could see was Satine holding the baby.

Their child, his mind supplied.

His daughter, he was certain of it. A daughter he would never know. Never hold.

Kenobi could feel the chill spreading, slowing down his heartbeat, almost like it was freezing the blood in his veins.

Finally, Obi-Wan understood the choice he made back on Mandalore. His wife. His unborn daughter. They were what mattered. They were the reason he turned his back to everything he knew, everything he had been taught to believe in.

They were the choice he wold make again if given the opportunity.

Kenobi stared at the small smiling face of his daughter. The very idea that he might not be there for her made him furious. It was unacceptable. Unthinkable.

The frost spreading through Obi-Wan turned into molten magma. The Force shivered when he reached for her. Obi-Wan didn't open himself for the source of his power. He didn't threat her as the ally who had been beside him ever since he could remember. Instead Kenobi demanded her power. He wrenched it into his body, demanded as much strength as she could give him and the Dark Side complied.

Eagerly at that. Obi-Wan could dimly sense the Dark Side rejoice at his choice. A part of him could dimly feel that the balance of the Force subtly shift. For a heartbeat he felt confusion. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the galaxy didn't become darker because of what he was doing. The Light Side didn't become dimmer. Nor did the Dark gain power, even if he knew he was taken a firm step towards the darkness he had been taught to fear.

It was simply different.

The moment passed. Raw, unimaginable power surged through Obi-Wan. His anger fueled the Dark Side. His love to Satine and that tiny angel he already loved with his whole heart made the Light Side literally blaze within him.

Obi-Wan's eyes focused. Tiin's lightsaber was frozen mid-stab, mere centimeters above Kenobi's heart. The Jedi Master's eyes widened in shock. He struggled to push his weapon down to no avail.

"Impossible!" Tiin exclaimed.

Obi-Wan didn't answer. He slowly raised his good arm and pointed it at the Jedi. A ball of pure light formed in his palm and was immediately surrounded by a corona of crackling, crimson lighting. It suddenly flew at Tiin, who jumped back and raised an arm to protect himself. A Force barrier materialized in front of the Jedi Master, then it was promptly shattered by Obi-Wan's attack. His shield was triggered by the lighting and popped up, stripped away from raw Dark Side energy. That however was enough to dissipate the outer layer of the attack and only the ball of light struck Tiin with bone breaking force.

The Jedi Master was blasted away. He felt multiple ribs snap before slamming into one of his soldiers and hitting the ground in a tangle of limbs. He laid there stunned for a few moments, before his armor administered painkillers and stimulants that cleared his mind.

Tiin groaned in pain and looked around. He was just outside the operations' center, laying among multiple bodies. The last of his soldiers were either on their knees or prone on the ground to present smaller targets and trading fire with an ever increasing number of Clones.

Kriff.

Tiin glanced back through the door. He used the Force to seek Kenobi and smiled grimly. The former Jedi was out – he could sense that Obi-Wan was still alive, but no longer any threat.

Feeling another of the men who followed him here die, snapped Tiin back to the firefight around him. There were only a handful of soldier left. People who followed him here, despite the unlikely odds of success. People dying because of him.

He glanced back at Obi-Wan. At the end the former Jedi was like an open book. Tiin had no doubt left that Kenobi had fallen. The Jedi could fell the Dark Side practically leaking from the man before he blasted him away. Yet, somehow he was not only using the Light Side too, but they were in balance within Kenobi.

Which according to everything Tiin knew, everything he was taught about the Force, was supposed to be impossible. That knowledge shook him. Tiin knew that Obi-Wan was no longer a Jedi and not because he had been expelled. Yet, right now, he couldn't call the man a Sith either. One of their kind could never draw so much power from the Light Side if able to touch it at all.

Tiin closed his eyes briefly. The Council was mistaken. He was wrong. Whatever Kenobi was, he hadn't fallen. He was no Sith. He didn't deserve to die for a betrayal which he might very well be innocent of.

Another of Tiin's men fell to the Clones. He felt the Force tremble. Jedi were dying. The Jedi Master could feel it. The galaxy was growing darker. He had been a fool. He was responsible for leaving the Order, the Jedi as a whole no choice but follow him in this madness. Tiin snarled when he felt the cold touch of the Dark Side. He could sense its triumph as good men and women died.

At that moment Tiin knew. He had been deceived. Betrayed.

By the Jedi teachings. By his own stubborn refusal to see how the galaxy had changed in mere months. By his own heart, when he left his emotion rule him and went to confront Veil in the Senate. By his mind when he refused to stop and seek the reasons why everything went so wrong within himself and the Jedi first, before blaming everything solely on the Sith.

More people he knew were suddenly dying on Coruscant.

"No more!" Tiin grunted in pain as he got up.

It was too late to stop this madness. All he could do now was save whoever he could and if he was fortunate to leave Coruscant alive, seek the faults in himself that led to this madness. Only then he could begin figuring out a way to end this madness if at all possible. If it wasn't already too late, because Tiin was afraid that no matter what he did from now on, no matter if the coup succeeded in its primary objectives, the Dark Side might triumph anyway.

He let the Force flow through him; it soothed the pain in his chest and invigorated him. Yet, it wasn't the calm feeling of the Light Side. Not at all. Tiin felt the Force flowing through him being fueled by his emotions – anger, despair, regret, the overwhelming feeling of failure… He raised a hand and his lightsaber flew into it.

"Follow me! We're leaving!" Tiin shouted to the few Cathar Commando's still on their feet. "Grab the wounded, I'll clear up a path."

Tiin strode in front of his remaining men and began deflecting the incoming blaster bolts. He found he didn't particularly care if the Dark Side was aiding him right now. He was a failure as a Jedi anyway. No matter what happened, Tiin was the one who ultimately led to countless Jedi dying right now with more to follow.

He screamed his frustration, his despair at the Clones in front of him. The Dark Side responded and turned his wordless shout into a physical force that threw those nearby off their feet.

"I'm sorry..." Tiin repeated, then decapitated a Clone trying to find his footing.

The Jedi Master caught another soldier in a telekinetic grip and crushed the poor bastard, then continued striding forward. His lightsaber danced guided by the force and sent back every shot coming his way to its sender. Those wearing the new armors merely tanked the reflected firepower. Yet, half the Clones were clad in the old Phase I suits and they began falling one after another.

Tiin pulled away the weapons of the closest troopers as he approached the end of the corridor and cut through a soldier that charged him with a knife he pulled from his belt. The Dark Side sang with joy at the slaughter he was committing, it grew that much stronger with every Jedi who fell on Coruscant. With every step he took forward, with every life he took, Tiin grew angrier; at himself, at the Dark Side, at the Force itself.

That anger merely granted him more power, thus stroking his fury further.

Tiin caught a blaster bolt aimed at his heart, took a step forward and slammed the energy in the chest of a Clone unlucky enough to be in his way. The man gave out a chocked scream as the blaster shot burned through his armor and seared his chest. Tiin let him fall and impaled the next Clone that came in range.

The worst was that he could feel the Dark Side mocking him. Corrupting him. With every new kill, Tiin's revulsion at himself grew. With every death he dealt, he began to feel a tiny bit of pleasure at a besting another enemy, at removing another obstacle in his path.

Tiin felt himself slowly but surely falling, knew that it was inevitable unless he stopped right now. He felt the Dark Side laughing at the idea. He could all but see the consequence – he and his few men being gunned down by enraged clones.

Tiin faltered. Was this how Obi-Wan began walking down the dark path? By facing the choice between dying along someone he cared about, no matter if it was a forbidden love or a sense of duty and obligation towards people who willingly walked with him in hell?

A chocked laugh escaped his lips. The Dark Side was truly an insidious bitch.

A blaster bolt slipped past Tiin and hit one of his men in the head, killing him instantly.

The Jedi roared his despair and charged the Clones. The die was cast. The sides drawn. There was no turning back.

All Tiin knew was the need to get his people out and the Dark Side's mocking laugh. The bitch had won.