Archive of Our Own

 Dominic and Ben were sitting in the Jedi pod, waiting for the opportune time. Their younger counterparts were sitting behind them, as representatives of the Council and because they were nervous. Kit and Plo were the other Council representatives for the day. 

It was time to pull out the last resort. It was going to have impacts on everyone, but it was the best option they had to draw Sidious out in order to defeat him without trouble. They had discussed it to death, and taken a few people aside that didn't already know to inform them. Fox and Cody, Rex. Anakin and Aayla. Ahsoka. Bant and a few other friends. Some people may have gotten forgotten. 

But regardless, it was time for the last resort. Time to tell the galaxy there were time travelers.

Finally. It was their turn. 

"Hello. For those of you that don't know, I'm Ben Kenobi."

"And I'm Dominic Vos. Most just call me Nic."

"Yes, we share last names with two famous Jedi. There's a reason for that." Ben paused dramatically.

Everyone was tense with anticipation. 

"I am Obi-Wan Kenobi from a future  about ten years from now, though we first ended up in the past twenty five years ago or around that general time frame."

"And I am Quinlan Vos from that same future." Dominic was lightly bouncing, amused by the murmurs of shock and disbelief. "We've been trying to change it for years. We had thought we had made good progress, but the war is going. And does not seem like it's going to stop."

"With us drawing nearer the day it all went wrong... we thought it would be prudent to share what our future was like." 

They had actually chosen this particular time so that they could do it to avoid Ahsoka or anyone else being accused and put on trial for a crime they did not commit.

Palpatine was staring them down, hand gripping the podium tightly, though no one was paying him any mind to notice. Aside from those who knew who he was. They were trying to draw him out, after all.

Before anyone could protest at all, they continued on with the little speech.

"Less than a year from now, the Sith made his move. We do not want to share how. It could be dangerous. The result was that the Republic fell and in its place rose an Empire, led by this Sith."

"One of the things he did to orchestrate this take over was kill almost the entirety of the Jedi Order. I survived because the mount I was riding was hit and I fell into water."

"I survived because I wasn't near those looking to kill Jedi, though I still had several close calls."

They had ensured that the chips were taken care of, quietly, as soon as possible. 

"So we went into hiding. All knowledge of Jedi was erased from the Jedi. We were forced into the shadows to save who we could without risking ourselves, or them."

They continued describing the Empire and the ten years they had lived under its rule until they reached the point of their death by drowning, at which point they woke up in the past. 

There was dead silence. The Chancellor was just about glaring at them, daring them to accuse him of being the Sith, becoming the Emperor.

Dominic and Ben just stared back at him innocently, as if they had no clue why he was looking so intensely at them. 

Suddenly, the whole Senate erupted into noise as everyone finally processed the information enough to react. 

Dominic leaned back with a wide grin, watching the chaos. Ben chuckled and waited, an older mirror of himself.

Others had noticed the similarities between them before. But there had been differences, including scars and other injuries. 

Now though, it was very obvious that they were technically the same person. 

Finally, a calm voice broke through the chaos. Bail Organa. 

"Master Kenobi, Master Vos. Er, the younger, how do you feel about this?"

"You can call us by our first names to keep confusion down," Obi-Wan responded calmly. "As for your question... we have known since they came to the past. They didn't share anything with us then. We were just padawans, after all.'

Quinlan nodded. "Since then they've shared most of it with us, sometimes as its relevant, and sometimes just because it was time to share it. But we've always known they were from the future. That there were things in the future they wanted to prevent."

"Wait," Padme jumped in, "isn't Master Dominic the one who trained you, Master Obi-Wan?"

"That is correct. There was an... issue with my original master, and rather than let me stay with him with no options, Nic, knowing what Ben went through, gave me the option of training with him. It was... strange at first, knowing he was a much older version of Quinlan, but we worked well together and it worked out in the end."

More questions flew at all four of them. Then, finally, came the question they were all waiting for.

"Are you going to tell us who the Sith is?"

Ben shook his head. "I'm afraid it would not end well for anyone if we did. We do not have actual proof of wrong doing at this time."

"Yes, knowing we know who the Sith, the wanna be Emperor is will have the Sith alter his plans," Dominic added, "but it would not be good if we blurted out his name right now. He'd deny it, and he's a rather good manipulator. I'd say he's almost like a puppeteer, he's so good at manipulating."

"So, we will keep his name to ourselves for now," Ben concluded. 

"I suppose that is fair reasoning," Palpatine interjected. "You have shared a lot, and given us much to think of. But why now? Why not sooner?"

"We have spent twenty five years trying to prevent the war. Trying to get the Sith out in the open so we could take him out. We have not been able to. But we have made a difference in the war. Just raising Obi-Wan differently from the first time around altered several paths." Dominic was calm as he responded, just a hint of mischievousness about him. He knew that Palpatine was desperately trying to figure out how to take them out before they actually told anyone. Desperately figuring out how many of his plans were now ruined.

Ben nodded. "There have been far fewer Jedi who have died. The numbers have yet to reach a thousand dead, but it passed that number in the first year and a half of the war in our original life. Missions have gone better. Grievous is dead now instead of at my hand on Utapau months from now, incidentally right before the Empire rose."

And the interrogation continued. They had a lot to cover, and they could never cover all of it quickly, especially when they had things they refused to share. Things they had changed for the better and don't want others to be in trouble for.

.

Quinlan and Obi-Wan were having a date night. Nothing unusual for them. Even with the war, they tried have  date nights at least once when they were on leave. They were at their favorite karaoke place. 

Obi-Wan glanced at the bartender, this person was new. Very clearly new. Just about everyone knew that Obi-Wan and Quinlan were frequent visitors to this place before the war, and treated them like part of the scenery. This bartender was staring at them constantly and stuttering over their words.

Someone talked to the bartender, money changed hands. Something struck Obi-Wan about that interaction. But it was typical. The person got their drinks and all was good. 

Quinlan got up to sing a very energetic song, bouncing all over the place, waving his very obviously fake hand around without a care. Obi-Wan watched with a soft smile. He did so love seeing Quinlan let loose like this. Where others could see him. 

Obi-Wan took a moment to order another round of drinks before Quinlan rejoined him, eyes bright and bouncing with the adrenaline of having a great time singing and dancing.

Their drinks arrived. Light on the alcohol, or they were supposed to be. Just rum mixed with soda. Something to enjoy and maybe get a little buzzed on, but not enough to get totally drunk on. Neither of them were fully comfortable getting totally drink.

Obi-Wan went to take a sip and paused, frowning, when the Force pinged him that something was wrong. But it wasn't specific. Was it the drink?

Quinlan picked up his glass and frowned. And rather than speaking aloud, he chose to use their bond to talk.

The bartender put something in it. She was paid off and given something to put in it.

Wonderful. So we don't know who or why.

Nope. But... I'm wondering if maybe it wouldn't be better to spring the trap. We can leave clues behind.

True. I don't think it's poison... I'm not getting that level of alarm from the Force.

Yeah, me either. Think the Chancellor is making a move?

Wouldn't surprise me. He's been rather frantic trying to hold everything together without saying anything against Ben and Nic. 

That's been hilarious. Alright. Let's drink as we normally would. Activate the trackers we keep on us and send a message so people are aware of what's about to happen.

Yep. Let's do this.

Obi-Wan clinked his glass against Quinlan's like that had been the reason for his pause. Then he drank some of his drink and sat it down. He didn't taste anything off about it, though the alcohol was a little stronger than it should be. They took care of the trackers and sending out messages.

Obi-Wan was called up to the next song. He drank a bit more of his drink like he normally would before his turn and got up. Not too fast acting, then. He got over to the microphone and started singing his song of choice. A ballad. 

He had this one memorized and kept his eyes Quinlan the entire time, singing to his partner. When he finished the song, he handed the microphone back and turned to walk to his seat. 

Quinlan met him with a big grin and pulled him into an intense kiss, to the cheers of all the regulars. This was nothing unusual.

They pulled away giggling and went back to their booth, cuddling as they sipped at their drinks and listened to the next songs. 

Quinlan finished his before Obi-Wan did and started cuddling with both arms around Obi-Wan. He closed his eyes. Okay it's hitting me now. Vision is swimming... starting to get hard to think.

Yeah, I'm getting a little of that. I should finish my drink before it affects me enough that I can't. 

Probably. Quinlan rested his head on Obi-Wan's shoulder. 

Obi-Wan hummed and drank his drink a bit faster. He finished it quickly and leaned back into Quinlan. His vision swam and his head started hurting. So he closed his eyes as well, listening to the music. 

It was a few songs later that the person in charge of the karaoke approached them.

"Is everything okay?" he asked them, concerned. He knew their usual habits and they usually signed up for another song by now. And they usually didn't look like they were about to fall asleep, ether. 

Quinlan cracked one eye open. "Everything is spinning... don't feel good... drink drugged?"

Obi-Wan hummed in agreement. "We should go..."

"Let me make sure you get in a speeder safely, at least."

"Nah... it's okay. Made arrangements when we realized." Quinlan waved a hand, then dropped it as soon as he realized it made things worse.

He stared at them. "Crazy Jedi. Anyone besides the bartender handle your drinks?"

"No..." Obi-Wan mumbled. "One of us was with them ever since we got them."

"Newbies. I'll make a report about it."

"Cool." Quinlan pulled himself away from Obi-Wan reluctantly to stand. He had to grab onto the table to steady his balance. "Oof... this isa bad one..."

Obi-Wan groaned. "Tell me about it." He pulled himself up and grabbed onto the booth to keep from falling over. 

They waved off any offer of help, wrapped their arms around each other and stumbled for the door almost blindly. 

Once they were outside, they took a moment to get their bearings, then started heading for where they could order a taxi. They both knew that there was no way that they were drugged and would be allowed to get away.

They were right. As they approached the taxis, two people appeared on either sized of them, offering to help.

Quinlan was very out of it by then and mumbled an agreement, leaning more on the person than supporting his own weight. 

Obi-Wan was still a little more lucid but couldn't muster up the brainpower for more than a nod. 

They were guided into a speeder nearby. Not a taxi. The two people got into it as well, and then they were off.

Quinlan squinted. "Tha's not the way..."

"Hey... you're righ'..." Obi-Wan mumbled, staring out the window, then back at the people who had 'helped' them. "Wass goin' on?"

"Wouldn't you two like to know?" They laughed.

It took a bit for it to sink in. The drugs completely wiped away their memories of getting the drink and deciding to spring the trap. 

So they absolutely panicked and fought back. Very weakly. Their captors just laughed at them.

They never completely passed out, but for the amount of awareness they had, they might as well have. 

Finally, the speeder came to a stop and they were dragged out roughly. Quinlan face planted and groaned into the ground. 

"Make it stop."

"Oh, no, my boy. Can't do that. It's only just begun."

The voice chilled them to the core, even though they could not place his voice at first. It was the Chancellor. It was Sidious.

He dragged them into his own speeder, covered in a cloak and hood to hide his identity. 

Quinlan leaned on Obi-Wan as the speeder started moving. 

"The drugs should start wearing off any minute now. They're not long lasting ones, but they certainly do the job, don't they?"

Obi-Wan groaned loudly, rubbing his head. "Shuddap..."

Sidious chuckled as the speeder stopped. He pulled them out of the speeder. 

Obi-Wan face planted this time while Quinlan barely kept his balance. They stumbled after Sidious; there wasn't much of a choice. He was dragging them along with the Force, after all.

By the time they made it to the cell they were apparently going to be staying in, Quinlan was starting to be able to think again. "What do you want with us, Sidious?"

"So you know the situation you are in... And yet, you think you can make demands?"

Quinlan huffed. "You're the Sith. We're Jedi. We want nothing to do with you."

"Too bad. You would have made a fantastic apprentice. Both you and Obi-Wan. I've had my eyes on you for a long time but you never stayed in my presence if you could get out of it. And now I think I know why."

"Oh, you do?" Obi-Wan grumbled, pulling himself up and leaning on Quinlan. He squinted at Sidious but everything looked funky.

Return of the ability to think was only the first thing to return, the other symptoms were still slow fading. 

"Your older counterparts said they know who the Sith is. I suppose they would have to if I did become Emperor as planned. So, they must have told you my identity."

"Yeah... that's about right," Obi-Wan conceded. "Had to tell me why Nic wasn't letting us be around you, after all, though it still took a few years for them to get around to it."

"What else have they told you?"

"Not gonna tell you."

"Pity." There was a hint of glee in his voice.

There was no warning before they were hit by Sith lightning. 

After just a few seconds, Sidious let up on the lightning.

"There is plenty more where that came from."

"You're taking way too much pleasure in the idea of torture," Quinlan muttered.

Sidious hit him with lightning again. "I spend far too much time playing nice." He sneered. "Playing nice with fools. I take great pleasure in torture when I can."

"Well, it's not going to work." Obi-Wan glared at him defiantly. "Studies sho-" He cut off with a yelp as he was hit with a surge of lightning.

"Oh, regular torture by any person is ineffective because they'll say anything to make it end, true. But I'm a Sith. I have my ways."

Sidious ensured that there was no way that they could escape, taking their lightsabers with him when he had enough for the time being.

.

Days later, Quinlan and Obi-Wan were exhausted and in pain. They weren't sure what everyone was planning, but they trusted there was a plan. The trackers should have worked. They just needed to figure out how to rescue the two Jedi.

Quinlan curled up with Obi-Wan after the latest torture session. They were rather sporadic and usually no longer than an hour as Sidious had to be able to get away from his day job to do the torture. He took great glee in it, especially after a particularly bad meeting. 

"You know, Obi... I hope they catch him in the act..."

"Me too... he's not likely to give us any room to escape."

"Yeah. And anyways, it'll be harder to prove if we do."

"...you okay?"

Quinlan sniffled. "Not really," he admitted, "this is worse than anything we've been through. He took our prosthetics to make it harder on us. And he hasn't actually tried to get the information yet."

"I know... It's worrying me, too," Obi-Wan sighed, cuddling Quinlan. "But we've done everything we can... We just need to make sure that we can take him down."

"Right... without any Jedi getting in trouble. Honestly, it's kind of tempting to just take him out now. We've clearly been tortured, as much as he can without actually putting us at risk of dying. Aside from the idiots of the Senate it'll be a clear case of self defense."

"Last resort only, Quin," Obi-Wan countered. "Trying to take him out without our prosthetics while so injured and with no idea of where our lightsaber is will end badly for us. One or both of us could end up dead. So only if he's about to get the information or if we're about to die anyways."

"Fine, fine. Last resort. Love you."

"Love you too."

.

It took another two days before they had enough. 

"Hmm... your shields are still holding strong. Your resistance to torture is quite impressive." Sidious chuckled. "But I'm sure I can ensure you break."

Quinlan glared at him, despite the pain he was already in. "I thought you were just looking for information," he replied.

"Oh, I am. But I do only need one of you to get the information... and maybe if you're broken enough I can remake you into my apprentice. But which of the two of you do I want to keep?"

Quinlan pushed himself up and moved in front of Obi-Wan protectively. "You're not killing either of us."

"Oh, it's not up to you, my boy. I am going to get my way, like it or not." A casual wave of his hand flung Quinlan into the wall. 

Quinlan hit the wall hard, crying out as it further hurt injuries he already had. He then laid on the floor, groaning at the lingering pain. He looked up in a daze.

Sidious was now standing over Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan had more injuries to his legs than Quinlan did, making it difficult for him to get away, while Quinlan had some bad injuries to his arms and torso compared to Obi-Wan. 

Obi-Wan wasn't paying him any attention, looking to see if Quinlan was okay. Quinlan offered reassurances in the Force and started pushing himself up. It hurt, but he could do it. For Obi-Wan's sake.

Then Obi-Wan screamed. Sidious had shoved a dagger into his thigh, sending electricity through it. Quinlan gasped.

Obi-Wan's thrashing twisted the dagger and made the wound worse. Sidious held the lightning for several minutes before letting go. He watched Obi-Wan lay there on the ground, panting and twitching. Then he turned to Quinlan who was moving to get to him, eyes wide with worry and a hint of fear.

He lifted his hand and used the Force to choke Quinlan. Quinlan struggled against his hold, kicking the air as Sidious lifted him. He couldn't breathe. 

"No!" Obi-Wan yelped, reaching an arm out for Quinlan weakly. He had tears in his eyes. 

Sidious smirked and dropped Quinlan to the ground. "That solves my dilemma, thank you, my boy. Quinlan is going to have to die."

Quinlan stiffened, glancing at Obi-Wan worriedly. Obi-Wan was shaking, tears flowing down his face. He met Quinlan's eyes and mouthed. 'Last resort.'

Quinlan nodded minutely, starting to calculate the best way to attack Sidious. They would not have much of a chance, but they had to try. 

Sidious meanwhile had pulled out his lightsaber. It glowed red as he activated it.

"Now... a slow death for you, Quinlan." Before Quinlan could react, Sidious stabbed his thigh, straight through. 

Quinlan screamed. 

Obi-Wan jumped onto Sidious' back. Sidious staggered in surprise. He started prying Obi-Wan off. 

Quinlan breathed through the pain and took the opportunity to snatch Sidious' lightsaber. 

Sidious threw Obi-Wan into the wall and held him under lightning.

Quinlan pulled himself up, wincing at the pain in his thigh, at how much it hurt to stand. He closed his eyes and breathed, letting go of all emotions. Once he didn't have a hint of fear, he drew on the Force to assist him, to make it easier to attack. He hadn't want to risk the Dark side by not letting go of emotions, not after what they'd been through.

Sidious seemed oblivious to him, still holding Obi-Wan under lightning. Obi-Wan screamed until his voice was gone, then he tried to curl up and endure.

Quinlan hobbled closer as fast as he could. He swung the lightsaber at Sidious when the Force told him it was time. He grinned triumphantly when Sidious' arm went flying. That evened their odds significantly.

Sidious roared in anger and flung Quinlan into the wall. His head hit the wall with a loud crack. Quinlan fell to the floor, dazed from the impact. 

Obi-Wan used the opportunity to attack again, despite still being shaky from so long under lightning. He punched Sidious a few times, only for Sidious to stab him with the lightsaber. 

Sidious pulled Quinlan over to join them with the Force. "Tsk tsk tsk. You shouldn't have done that. Good attempt, but not good enough. What should I do for you. Both of you deserve to be punished but I can only kill one of you." His face was twisted in a vicious smirk as he thought over his options.

Quinlan glared at him despite the pain and moved to lean over Obi-Wan. "You are going to die. They'll get you eventually."

"Yes, but how? Hmm. I think you need some more torture while I'm gone." Sidious checked the time and commed someone. "I do need to take the time to sort out how I'm going to hide that you took off my arm, after all."

He disappeared.

.

Quinlan and Obi-Wan were cuddling together in hazy pain. They weren't thinking clearly, but they didn't have to be. Not with Sidious gone. They were quietly talking through their options for killing Sidious. The initial plan almost worked. Almost. It wouldn't work again. but they had to come up with something. They couldn't settle on anything. 

There were footsteps. They tensed and clung to each other.

"...Well kriff." It was Fox. 

Quinlan lifted his head. "Fox? What are you doing here?"

"I've been fooling the Chancellor into thinking the chip is still in my head and works. He wanted me to continue the torture, but I don't particularly want to do that."

"Understandable." Obi-Wan pushed himself up painfully. "He's the Sith, you know."

"...no wonder those two refused to say the identity of the Sith... wait that's right, they're older versions of you two. That's confusing."

Quinlan chuckled. "It is. But for now we just want to get out of here. Preferably in a way that either ends with the Chancellor dead, or with evidence. Both would be ideal."

Fox stared at them. "Can I shoot him?"

Obi-Wan grinned. "You would have better aim than us. Why don't we start collecting information we can, maybe see if we can live stream any cameras, and then we can 'let' Sidious catch us escaping, start the livestream, and boom, proof that he's bad and nuts."

Fox nodded, a slight smile on his face. "I can pretend that you two have been managing to escape. I've been playing off myself under control as less competent because I can't truly think, so if you two just used the Force..."

Quinlan nodded. "I love it when a plan comes together. Now... let's get moving."

Fox supported them both. "I think we should start over here."

"Excellent. Lead the way." 

.

Dominic was glaring at his holopad as he tried to come up with some better plan for rescuing Obi-Wan and Quinlan. They had caught all those involved with the kidnapping, but the Chancellor had naturally stalled the investigations, and they couldn't do much without bringing forward the evidence that the Chancellor was the Sith. It was maddening. 

Ben brought him his favorite tea. "I'm stuck on a plan too, Nic. But they're resourceful. They'll figure something out."

Dominic rubbed his face. "I know, I know. But Obi-Wan was still my padawan for years. I can't just forget that, Ben. It's weird how the younger version of you has become so much like my own son, but I wouldn't have it any other way. And he's at the mercy of the Sith. Because the Sith has too much locked down for us to be able to help him or Quinlan."

Ben placed a hand on his. "I know. It'll be okay. They'll make it out. I know it. It won't be unscathed, I'm certain, but they will make it out. Have a little faith."

Dominic flipped his hand to hold onto Ben. "Okay. I will. Thank you." He jumped when his comm chimed with a call. He set down the holopad to answer it. Unfamiliar number. He wondered how they got the number. 

He shrugged and answered it. He almost completely regretted answering it. 

"What the heck! Dominic Vos?! WHY DIDN'T YOU COME VISIT!"

Ben stifled his chuckles. They never had visited Kiffu, not wanting to answer uncomfortable questions. The consequences of that, and announcing to the galaxy that he was a time traveler had come back around. 

"Uh... Hi, cousins," Dominic greeted in Kiffi as he waved sheepishly. "I uh... I don't have any excuse?"

"...yep, that's Quin alright," Aisling chuckled. "Would know him anywhere. Even older."

"Which would be why you didn't visit, right?" Jasmine asked, arms crossed. 

Dominic nodded sheepishly. "I figured there would be too many awkward questions and I never could settle on how much we should tell you about the future. There was a lot at stake and we were never certain if we were telling the Council the right amount."

"That does make sense," Bernard offered quietly. "Still wasn't fun learning about it from the news."

"Kiffu is having a time of it right now, you should visit." Conall grinned at him. "It'll be fun, you can ease people's minds, and all that. Also. Who's Ben Kenobi to you?"

Dominic sighed and pulled Ben into view. "Ben, my family, you met them before, I think. My family, Ben. Ben is my husband."

"But not in Kiffu tradition?"

"We never really had the time the first time around," Ben said quietly. "There were a lot of different factors. And then we got here and well... didn't want to cause too much trouble."

Dominic chuckled as everyone started protesting. "Yeah, Ben, I've told you that they wouldn't find you any trouble."

Before anyone responded a video suggestion popped up on his holopad, which was at just the right angle for him to see that. A live stream.... from the Senate?

Dominic listened to what everyone was saying even as he tapped on the video to see what it was about. 

He froze. "Force. Kriff. Livestream from the Senate, pull it up now."

There was silence as everyone pulled it up and stared.

It was a hooded figure, missing an arm, standing off against a clearly injured Quinlan and Obi-Wan, who were leaning heavily on each other. From the visible injuries, it was a miracle they could stand at all. Slightly behind Sidious was a clone trooper. Fox? 

"I will find out what you know of the future, one way or another. Escape, or not. I will have my way." 

Quinlan glared. "No, you won't."

"CC-1010, kill Vos." 

Fox stepped forward stiffly, stood in front of Quinlan and Obi-Wan. He raised his blaster. Then he spun on Sidious and pointed his blaster at him.

"CC-1010, I said to kill him!"

"My name is Fox," he snarled. "And I will not let you kill them. You were never in control. None of us have had chips in our heads since the start of the war!"

"WHAT!?" Sidious roared. He aimed lightning at Fox.

Obi-Wan and Quinlan moved and knocked Fox out of the way. Later, they would tell everyone that was because Fox had the steady aim and if they had any chance, it needed to stay that way.

Quinlan screamed, writhing on the ground. It was even stronger than the last time. Open wounds seemed to burn with the lightning coursing through them. His nerves had already been raw, or close to it, and now they were on fire once more.

Fox stumbled. He stared at Quinlan on the ground and Obi-Wan trying to help him, getting the edges of the lightning and whimpering, hoarse from all his screaming earlier. 

He lifted his blaster once more and turned it on Sidious. "You will die here."

Sidious laughed, not letting up on the lightning. "Oh, Fox, you really think they'll believe you when it comes out that you killed me?"

"I think they'll believe the livestream." Fox gestured at the camera, then shot Sidious in the chest, then the head, then a few more times, for good measure. 

Sidious' lightning disappeared and he crumpled to the ground. Fox stalked forward. He grabbed the lightsaber and cut off his head for good measure. It was only then that everyone could see the identity of the Sith. 

It was the Chancellor of the Republic. 

Chaos erupted across the galaxy. 

In their quarters at the Temple, Dominic and Ben stared at the holopad. 

Quinlan wasn't moving, he was limp. Obi-Wan was crying and shaking him. 

Fox hurried over to them, worry painted on his face. He'd removed his bucket once the Sith was dead. 

"He needs a healer. Now. I didn't think his lightning could kill." Fox commed the Jedi Temple, ignoring the camera, and gave them directions (that could not be picked up with the microphone) to get to where they were.

Obi-Wan stopped and looked up at Fox. He held up his hand. It was trembling. "If lightning for long enough causes this, it wouldn't surprise me if too much would lead to death." He wiped his eyes and kissed Quinlan's forehead before adjusting to hold Quinlan in his lap. 

Dominic and Ben exchanged looks. 

"We have to go," Dominic said. "They're going to need our help in sorting everything out."

Aisling was cursing. "Go, I'm going to have some fires to put out here. The Chancellor of the Republic just tried to have a member of Clan Vos killed."

Dominic winced. He knew the implications of that. Kiffu refused to stop thinking of Quinlan as prince, because he was a member of Clan Vos. Anyone who was Clan Vos was a prince to Kiffu. It didn't matter if they didn't take on any responsibilities, if they had given up all rights to privileges. On Kiffu, they got everything. And Aisling, his cousin, was King. She was not going to have an easy time calming things down. 

"Good bye. We'll make arrangements to visit once things have settled."

"Oh, don't you worry. I'm sure we're going to have to come to you. I am not going to stay on Kiffu after seeing my cousin like that, regardless of all the politics."

"Right. Thanks for the warning." Dominic took in a deep breath after the call ended. "Let's go, Ben."

Ben nodded. "They'll recover, Nic."

"I know. But still... seeing just what we saw... I hate that our last resort led to this instead of drawing Sidious out in another way."

"I know. Me too. But it didn't. We just have to push through. They're okay. They will survive, and learn to live with anything permanent."

"Right... remind me to thank Fox. I have a feeling that if he hadn't been playing along with the Chancellor about the chips, there would have been no chance."

"I quite agree." Ben kissed him. "Now let's go see how we can help."