Chapter Text
OBI-WAN: You were awfully polite to that reporter, Master. He clearly wanted to get you on holo-cam saying something about Valorem. That the Chancellor sent us to be killed.
QUI-GON: I'm sure that fellow has met enough rude Jedi knights in his career. I told him the truth, which is that Chancellor Valorem was doing his best, in what we now know was a no-win situation.
OBI-WAN: No one's going to believe that.
QUI-GON: If they think the Jedi are naive, so be it. If they think that we are overawed by temporal power, so be it. Better than hating us.
OBI-WAN: You're not worried about oversight? Master Yoda said his sources on the Religious Affairs subcommittee confirmed the plan to politicize Temple governance was under real consideration-
QUI-GON: I do not tune out Master Yoda, my young Padawan apprentice. I know perfectly well what he said. But there are worse things than politicians' sticky fingers. They wouldn't pry into the Mysteries, I'm certain of it.
OBI-WAN: Worse things...?
QUI-GON: We cannot keep this Sith conspiracy a secret forever. For all we know there are Tusken raiders whispering in their caves today about a red saber, glittering in the desert.
OBI-WAN: Rumors of the Sith strengthen our hand, Master. The people want our protection.
QUI-GON: That is what's said in the Temple. I'm sure there's some truth to it. But remember, my young Padawan learner, that the people do not think about the Sith as we do. For us, for the Council- for Master Yoda- the Sith are an extension of primeval darkness. An outgrowth of the dark side of the Force. That once cut down they will always return.
OBI-WAN: Of course.
QUI-GON: But to the man on the street, my young apprentice, there is no such thing as Sith. It is a name taken on by fanatics and murderers who turn the techniques of the Jedi against Galactic civilization. And who do they organize to destroy? The Jedi. Who teaches them their secrets? The Jedi. They would throw us to the wolves, Obi-Wan. I truly believe that. They would sacrifice every ancient mystery and every sacred text if it meant that no more villages would burn for the vengeance of the Sith.
OBI-WAN: ...
OBI-WAN: What will happen to us, Master?
QUI-GON: If we are lucky? We will vanquish this new Sith conspiracy, swiftly and silently. It will disappear under the dunes. But if they grow in strength...
OBI-WAN: But the balance of the Force- Master Yoda said-
QUI-GON: The Force can remain unbalanced for longer than the Temple can keep itself alive. The Senators are circling us, my young learner. Look for it in their eyes. If the light of Jedi learning is lost forever, it will be these terrified, impulsive politicians who deal the killing blow. And there will be no knights, anymore, only faceless waves of droids, and haunted recluses.
OBI-WAN: Then we will not fail.