Obi-Wan Kenobi (Part 8)

Welcome back, everyone.  I hope the past week has been good to you.  Thanks for joining me for Episode 6 of the Obi-Wan Kenobi rewrite.

If this is your first time here, please check out the previous parts (they all have the “Obi-Wan Kenobi” tag) for past episodes and my approach to this series.  Otherwise, let’s dive right in.

Series Recap

Obi-Wan was in hiding on Tatooine, feverishly training for the day he would train Luke to destroy Vader and the Emperor, when Jedi Master Jorus C’baoth found him and invited him to join the partisan group known as the Hidden Path.  Hoping to protect Luke from C’baoth, Obi-Wan agreed to go.

He quickly learned that C’baoth’s organization is far removed from the Jedi Order’s philosophy.  A Path operative sacrificed a group of hired clone veterans for a needless distraction against Third Sister.  What’s more, Obi-Wan has discovered that C’baoth is using mind tricks to brainwash child recruits.

Armed with this grim knowledge, Obi-Wan has gone to confront C’baoth.

EPISODE 6 – GUARDIAN OF THE REPUBLIC

Opening Scene

We pick up right at the cliffhanger from last time.  Obi-Wan stands before C’baoth’s desk, refusing the offered seat.  C’baoth is utterly unfazed by Obi-Wan’s naked outrage.

OBI-WAN: I will only ask this once, C’baoth.  Are you using mind tricks on the padawans you’ve collected?

C’BAOTH [indifferently]: Of course.  Did you expect otherwise?

What follows is a brief back-and-forth – I hesitate to call it an argument, as Obi-Wan is the only one engaging with it as such, while C’baoth is completely at ease – where Obi-Wan challenges C’baoth’s methods.  He is appalled that C’baoth would stoop to such levels.  C’baoth brushes off Obi-Wan’s concerns, stating that indoctrination of raising a child with certain values is fundamentally no different from imposing those values through the Force; he’s simply taking weeks to do what the Jedi Order would over a decade.

Things take a turn when C’baoth refers to the children he’s indoctrinated as “weak minded.” “This is about more than ensuring their obedience, Obi-Wan.  This is about separating those with true potential as Jedi was lesser beings with extra midichlorians.”

Obi-Wan does not take this well.

OBI-WAN: What you’re creating here is no Jedi Order.

C’BAOTH: Good.  The Order was weak.  We were given mastery of the Force, yet we made ourselves slaves.  Had we ruled the Republic, the Empire would never have risen.

OBI-WAN [aghast]: We were never meant to rule, C’baoth!  We were the guardians of peace and justice!  We were meant to serve!

C’BAOTH [finally showing irritation]: And what did that get us!  Corruption.  Distraction.  Order 66.  We cannot defeat the Empire as we were, Obi-Wan.  We must rise up.  We must take control of the galaxy, for the sake of the weak.

OBI-WAN: … no.  I refuse.

C’BAOTH: You are welcome to do so.  I’m not keeping you here, Obi-Wan.  You came willingly.  If you want to slither back into your desert hole and hide, you are free to do so.  I will arrange for a ship for you.

[Obi-Wan hesitates, clearly torn.]

C’BAOTH: Or … do you come here for some other reason?  Skywalker’s child, perhaps?

Here C’baoth reveals that he knew Organa would have contacted Obi-Wan about Leia (citing the same connections that Reva did in the original show).  He also mentions that Obi-Wan is not the first Jedi to come after her – Ahsoka Tano had previously attempted to recover Leia.

OBI-WAN [surprised]: Ahsoka’s alive?

C’BAOTH: She was, when last I saw her … though she won’t be coming after me again.  You are free to leave, Obi-Wan, but the Skywalker girl stays.  If you refuse, I will deal with you the same way I dealt with Tano.

Obi-Wan stares C’baoth down.  He starts to turn away.  As he does, a figure bars his path: the apparition of Anakin.  The two Jedi stare one another down.  Obi-Wan turns back to C’baoth.

OBI-WAN: No, C’baoth.  The girl … Leia comes with me.

C’BAOTH: I’ve warned you, Obi-Wan.  Do not make me do so again.

OBI-WAN: Yours is not the only plan to destroy Vader.  I was hiding in the desert to wait for Organa’s call.  When Leia comes of age, I am to train her – properly.  Not like this.  Give her to me.  You can keep the other children and raise them as you please, but let me finish what I’ve started.

C’BAOTH [shakes his head]: Do you know what the problem with that is, Obi-Wan?  You are still a product of the Order of old.  If you train her, she will be, too.  We don’t need symbols that can be brushed aside.  [He waves his hands through the air.]  We need force.

Without rising from his seat, C’baoth extends his hand towards Obi-Wan and blasts him with Force lightning.  Obi-Wan, caught off-guard, is hurled back against the door, smashing his head against it.  He collapses to the floor as soon as C’baoth cuts off the stream of lightning.

C’baoth opens the door with another wave of his hand.  He instructs the guards to take Obi-Wan down to the cells.  “Make sure he is properly restrained.  I have a great deal of work to do with him.”

The guards drag Obi-Wan out of the office.  Cut to the title cards.

Echoes of Twilight

Obi-Wan is imprisoned in the bowels of the mind.  He’s bound into an interrogation frame, not unlike the one that was nearly used on Leia in the original show.  Instead of torture devices, we see that some black circlet covered in blinking lights has been placed upon his head.

At this time, Obi-Wan had not fully recovered from his blow to the head.  He fades in and out of consciousness.  As he does, we get glimpses of a mission from the Clone Wars.  He and Anakin are aboard a shuttle that is making its final approach to the shadowy moon of Dyspeth.  They will have a brief holo-call with Ahsoka, wherein the dialogue establishes that they’ve been summoned to inspect suspected Separatist sabotage of a weapons research facility.  (To give something fun to the Clone Wars fans, Ahsoka will be voiced by Ashley Eckstein, and CGI will be used to get her appearance as close as possible to the cartoon.  Clue within the dialogue will hint that these events are happening at the same time as S3:E6, “The Academy”.)

Just as the shuttle drops through the atmosphere of the moon, Obi-Wan is startled back into full consciousness by C’baoth’s voice.

C’BAOTH: Apologies for the rough treatment, Obi-Wan.  [He watches as Obi-Wan tries to move his hands.]  It’s no use calling upon the Force.  The neural disruptor will ramp up its intensity as you struggle.  The best you’ll gain this way is a splitting headache.

OBI-WAN: What do you intend to do, then, C’baoth?  Keep me imprisoned here?

C’BAOTH: I gave you the chance to leave.  You stood your ground.  Now I need to ensure that you’ll leave and never return.

OBI-WAN: And you honestly think torture will accomplish that?

C’BAOTH: We are not animals, Obi-Wan.  We have the Force.

[C’baoth extends one hands over Obi-Wan’s brow.  Obi-Wan grimaces; lights flicker on the disruptor.  We catch flashes of the shuttle diving through the clouds of Dyspeth.  With a groan, Obi-Wan pushes through them.]

OBI-WAN: Mind tricks won’t work on me, C’baoth!

C’BAOTH: Mind tricks works on everyone, Obi-Wan.  [He lowers his hand.]  The weak-minded are swayed by mind tricks because they yearn for leadership.  They need others to tell them what to do and what is true.  Through mind tricks, we give them the commands they crave.  Stronger minds do not have this hunger … but everyone has a breaking point, some desire or principle for which we’ll sacrifice everything else.  Even Jedi have it.

OBI-WAN: Is that what you did to Ahsoka?

C’BAOTH: Yes, and then I sent her on her way.  [He raises his hand again.]  Now, you have something that you value more than the Skywalker child.  It’s time you remembered that.

The interior of the shuttle flashes across the screen.  Obi-Wan strains to maintain his focus, but the lights on the disruptor blink more rapidly.  His groan fades into silence as we see the shuttle landing at the research facility on Dyspeth.

Voices in the Dark

Obi-Wan and Anakin arrive at the facility and are briefed by the director, Umak Leth.  There have been multiple incidents over the past several weeks that Leth insists were the work of Separatist droids – power outages, explosives detonated inside of laboratories, and malfunctioning, and computer failures.  Leth insists that cloaked droids must be responsible, as the perpetrators have never been seen, and tightened security checks for organic personnel and droids alike have done nothing to stymie the sabotage.  When Obi-Wan and Anakin try to find out precisely what kind of projects were targeted, Leth is tight-lipped, saying that he’d need the Chancellor’s authorization to share the information.

The two Jedi inspect the scenes of the sabotage.  At first, Leth’s theory holds up.  The sabotaged locations were all tightly monitored, and there are no gaps in the security recordings.  However, while inspecting a conduit that was sliced into, they find dried blood on the edge of the hole.

A medical test identifies the originator of the blood: a human named Jolan Kathesh.  She isn’t listed on the personnel log for the facility, but she has a registered address within Dyspeth’s lone city, about twenty kilometers from the facility.  They requisition speeder bikes to travel there.

Knives in the Shadows

By the time Obi-Wan and Anakin arrive at the city, night has fallen – or, rather, the gas giant that Dyspeth orbits has eclipsed the sun.  They navigate the dimly lit streets to Kathesh’s apartment.  As they do, we get some lighthearted banter between Obi-Wan and Anakin.  The exact content of this banter isn’t important; the purpose is to affirm the brotherly bond between the two, which people who’ve only seen the live-action Star Wars material won’t have had the chance to see.

It quickly becomes clear that the people of Dyspeth are not thrilled to see Jedi, or indeed the Republic.  The two get many slammed doors and cold shoulders whenever they try to get directions.  In their search, Obi-Wan observes several missing persons posters that are displayed in public areas.  Eventually, Anakin resorts to a mind trick on a man in a cantina to get them the information they need.

No one answers the door when they ring the bell at Kathesh’s apartment, yet Obi-Wan senses that multiple people are inside.  Anakin makes a remark about breaking it.  When Obi-Wan makes a sarcastic remark about slicing through the door, Anakin feigns insult, then hotwires the door panel.

The apartment is empty.  However, both Obi-Wan and Anakin sense that there are people in the room with them.  Obi-Wan suddenly turns and shuts the door with the Force.  There is an audible thud as someone collides with it.  Anakin ignites his lightsaber and leaps forward to block an unseen attack; sparks reveal the blade of a sword.

What follows is a brief duel.  Anakin and Obi-Wan stand back to back, deflecting strikes.  As sparks fly around them, we catch outlines of sword blacks and hooded figures.  During this fight, a lucky strike by Obi-Wan slices off the hand of an assailant.  It and the sword it holds become visible as they fall to the floor.  Then the door opens.  The attacks dwindle rapidly as the unseen assailants retreat.

The Light and the Dark

Anakin and Obi-Wan ride back to their shuttle and contact the Jedi Council.  (We don’t need to see the holo-call, but if Samuel Jackson could be pulled in for a cameo, I think that’d make many people very happy.)  They swiftly confirm that they are dealing with the Disciples of Twilight, a Force order that exists independently of the Jedi Order, drawing its members from the unusually high number of Force-sensitives on Dyspeth.  This order has mastered light manipulation, allowing them to make themselves or objects invisible.  Instead of lightsabers, they use beskar vibroblades, heirlooms from more than millennium ago.  The Jedi Order has the coordinates of their temple.

One detail covered in this discussion is that Dyspeth had previously attempted to secede from the Republic around the time of the Battle of Naboo, though Chancellor Palpatine managed to talk them down.  The Disciples had backed the secession.  Anakin and Obi-Wan head to the temple with the belief that the Disciples had once again sided against the Republic, this time joining the Separatists.

Twilight Temple

Obi-Wan and Anakin arrive at the coordinates via speeder bike, just as the sun emerges from behind the gas giant.  The light reveals impassable marshland.  Obi-Wan makes a quip about ringing the bell; Anakin hops off his speeder bike and locks the throttle. It cruises into the swamp until it collides with an invisible wall.

Obi-Wan then draws the beskar sword and holds it aloft, shouting that they’ve come to parley.  After a moment, a bridge appears above the surface of the swamp, shimmering into existence like a hologram.  The two Jedi cross it.  A black doorway opens before them, admitting them into the temple.

Jolan Kathesh greets them, dressed in grey robes.  Beside her is a grey-robed monk missing a hand.  Obi-Wan returns the monk’s blade and asks to speak with Overseer of the Disciples.

In the meeting that follows, the Overseer admits that the Disciples are behind the sabotage of the Republic facility.  However, the Overseer denies any connection to the Separatists.  “We want no part in your war.  All we’ve done is remind you of that.”

The Overseer then claims that the facility is abducting and experimenting upon citizens of Dyspeth, targeting the ones with the highest midichlorian counts.  Anakin and Obi-Wan both refute this, with Obi-Wan asserting that this would violate Republic law and Anakin being offended by the accusation itself.  The Overseer offers a compromise: the Disciples will give Anakin and Obi-Wan their plans for their next act of sabotage, and the two can see the targeted project for themselves.

Sins of the Republic

The Jedi return to the facility and inform Umak Leth of their findings.  Leth says that he will tighten security immediately.  Obi-Wan, however, insists that the Jedi see to the preparations personally.  Leth protests, insisting that the Chancellor will need to give his blessing first; Anakin settles the matter by saying that Leth is free to call him, and to let him know that his friend Skywalker is asking to help.

The two Jedi then leave the office and proceed to break into the secure laboratory.  Leth tries to lock down the facility.  However, doors open for the Jedi anyway, operated from the inside by invisible Disciples.  They only need to use their lightsabers to carve through the final door.  Within, they see the truth for themselves: several civilians strapped to tables.  Obi-Wan recognizes several of them from the posters in the city.  Each civilian has a neural disruptor strapped to their head.

Before Obi-Wan and Anakin can free the civilians, Leth enters the room, backed by the entire security force of the facility.  Tear gas is released into the room; it swirls around the invisible disciples.  The Jedi and Disciples swiftly overwhelmed by a torrent of stun blasts.

Guardian’s Choice

Anakin and Obi-Wan come to in Leth’s office.  He makes it clear that the two of them are free to leave Dyspeth; their lightsabers have already been returned to their shuttle.  The Disciples, however, are to be shipped off-world and tried for treason.  When the two protest, Leth activates a hologram projector to reveal Chancellor Palpatine.

Palpatine assures the Jedi that his office had no idea that Leth was using the locals from Dyspeth for the experiments.  Leth will be tasked with finding alternative means to test the technology, which Palpatine explains is intended to detain Dooku, Ventress, and other Dark Side users.  When Anakin asks Palpatine about the disciples, he says that, whatever their intentions, they are still guilty of treason.  When Obi-Wan asks about Leth, he states the Leth was doing what was necessary with the resources he had available.  The Republic is, after all, at war.  He advises that the Jedi return to Coruscant.

With no other means to deal with Leth, the Jedi are escorted back to their shuttle.  They are barely back on board when Anakin explodes.

ANAKIN [seizing his lightsaber from the cockpit]: He can’t be allowed to get away with this!

OBI-WAN: Anakin, what are you thinking of doing?

ANAKIN: I’m going to deal with Leth.  Then I’m going to free the Disciples.

OBI-WAN [grabbing Anakin’s arm]: Don’t do this, Anakin!  We can’t just storm the place by ourselves!

ANAKIN: We can’t just let this go, Obi-Wan!  A Jedi can’t overlook this!

OBI-WAN: A Jedi can’t let emotions cloud his judgment!  Let’s return to Coruscant and report to the Council!  We can come up with a plan of action together!

ANAKIN: You know as well as I that they won’t do anything about it!

OBI-WAN: We don’t know that!

ANAKIN [pulling his arm out of Obi-Wan’s grip]: How can you stand to do nothing, Obi-Wan?

OBI-WAN: I hate this as much as you do, Anakin!  This was barbaric!  We don’t have the authority to deal with this ourselves, though.  This is a Republic facility.  If Jedi start attacking Republic installations, the trust between us and the people goes out the airlock!

ANAKIN: I thought you didn’t like politicians, Obi-Wan.

OBI-WAN [looking hurt]: We are guardians of the Republic.  Whether we like it or not, we need to play by their rules.  There will be other ways for us to help the Disciples.  We can find some way to hold Leth accountable.  Perhaps you can talk to the Chancellor about it, get him to see reason.  But today … for now … we have to walk away.

Anakin glowers at Obi-Wan.  Slowly, his gaze drops; he nods.  Dropping into the pilot’s chair, he activates the shuttle and lifts off.

Surrender

Obi-Wan opens his eyes in the present.  The neural disruptor has been removed from his head, and he is no longer shackled to the table.  C’baoth stands before him.

C’BAOTH: Your Republic is gone, Obi-Wan.  You have no authority here.  To interfere with me is to interfere with the fight against the Empire.  Maybe, someday, you’ll find some means to change my mind, or maybe you will change yours.  But today … for now …

OBI-WAN [voice distant]: I have to walk away.

Obi-Wan rises from the table.  C’baoth, flanked by Haja, escorts him out to the landing pad, where there is an old shuttle waiting for him. Obi-Wan boards it and takes off.  As it clears the atmosphere, we see he is not alone in the cockpit.  Anakin sits beside him, appearing as angry as he did in the flashback.  A single tear rolls down Obi-Wan’s face.

The shuttle jumps to hyperspace.

CONCLUSION

Thanks for joining me.  I hope that you all enjoyed the Clone Wars flashback, dark though it was.  I hope to see you all next Monday as we begin the two-part finale with Episode 7, “Heir to the Empire”.  I’ll see you all then.