It took Obi-Wan a moment to recognize Jedi Knight Prialla. He never knew her personally, she'd been a few years above his creche as a youngling on Coruscant, but he had heard of her joining Dooku on Indinoor almost immediately after her knighting.
All these years later, he'd almost forgotten that she was here, but he remembered her distinctively small silhouette.
...
He swallowed his mouthful of cereal, before giving her a polite smile. "Knight Prialla, it's been years. I've heard you've joined the investigation with us."
"Good morning, Knight Kenobi." She answered, and gave him a quick smile, though her face quickly fell back to a frown. "Vos should be here soon."
Obi-Wan glanced at Anakin, who had looked up at the appearance of the diminutive Jedi. "Anakin, this is Knight Prialla. She left Coruscant not long before you arrived."
"Good to meet you." Anakin said, though his expression didn't match the sentiment.
"Why so glum?" Kenbobi asked after a moment, trying to clear the uncomfortable air forming between them.
"Last minute reassignment." She huffed. "Don't worry, I'll do my best on the investigation, but I was really expecting to be here for the battle."
Obi-Wan and Anakin exchanged glances.
"You want to fight in the coming war?" Kenobi asked.
"Yeah, of course." Prialla answered, looking up, eyes wide. "That's what the Jedi are supposed to do, right? Defeat evil and protect the innocent."
Obi-Wan pursed his lips, surprised. "War is not something anyone should seek out, and I say that having fought in two of them."
"And one of those was against the Trade Federation." Prialla replied, gaze determined and unwavering. "They need to be stopped, Knight Kenobi, and you of all people should know that after they killed Master Jinn and made you starve."
Obi-Wan frowned. He was about to reply, snappish and cutting response on his lips, when Vos arrived.
"Obi-Wan!" He smiled as he pulled out his chair. "It's been years, how are you?"
Looking at the man, Obi-Wan wasn't quite sure he felt as happy to see him. Whether Vos was working for the Council or not, that didn't change the fact that he'd abandoned his Padawan before she was ready. Aayla was a good padawan, and being discarded so abruptly had hurt her deeply.
"I'm well, Vos. We were just talking about the coming war."
At that, Vos barked a laugh. "Well, if you're hoping to talk us out of it, you're arguing in the wrong corner. It's the Council's decision."
Obi-Wan blinked at that. "I didn't know the Indinoor Temple had its own Council."
"Well, at the moment we only have half a dozen Jedi Masters in the whole temple, so not all the seats are filled." Prialla answered. "But it won't be long until more of our Knights achieve the rank of Master."
"I see." Obi-Wan thought for a moment. "And who decides when a Knight is ready to become a Master?"
"Well, the Council, of course." Prialla answered.
"Which until recently was composed entirely of Dooku." Obi-Wan prodded. "So everyone on the Council was appointed by him as well."
"And Master Narec!" Prialla frowned, annoyed. "He's been here since the start."
"I see." Obi-Wan replied. "So you're telling me that the Temple is going to war entirely on the word of Count Dooku and his sock puppet."
There was the sound of a scraping chair as Prialla shot to her feet, eyes glittering with fury. At her diminutive height, even standing over a seated Obi-Wan, her eyes were only a little above his. "Master Narec is a greater Jedi than you ever will be!" She hissed. "And if you like, I can show you what he's taught me."
It took Obi-Wan half a moment to realise he was being challenged to a duel.
"Prialla." Vos suddenly spoke up, and she turned to him. "That's enough."
"But he said-"
"I heard what he said." Vos agreed. "And Obi-Wan is going to apologise, because he was out of line." He turned his head to meet Obi-Wan's gaze. "Right?"
"Yes, of course." Obi-Wan lowered his gaze. "I spoke ill of Master Narec, when I shouldn't have. I apologise."
"I think we're all just a little hot under the collar, the whole Galaxy is feeling tense right now." Vos murmured. "Right, Pri?"
"...I'm not the one you should apologise to." She stared at Obi-Wan for a few moments longer, before saying. "You're right, Vos. I think I need to cool off." She snatched up her tray and left, stalking away with hurried footsteps out of the mess hall.
After she was gone, Vos looked at Obi-Wan, scowling. "What in the blazes was that, Kenobi?"
Obi-Wan looked at Vos with only mild remorse. "I overstepped. It's just I cannot fathom why the Jedi around here are so loyal to Dooku and Narec? The man is an autocrat and a despot, and Narec seems to back his every decision unquestioningly."
Vos squinted at him, like he couldn't believe the question. "Because they're heroes, Kenobi."
It was such a blunt answer that it took Obi-Wan completely by surprise. "Really?"
"Of course!" Quinlan laughed at the shocked expression on his old friend's face. "It's a classic heroic narrative; the one good man trapped in a corrupt system, Dooku turned his back on the corruption and decadence of the Core to come and fight for the good, humble people of the Outer Rim, peeling back the syndicates and megacorps one star system at a time."
"Or to put another way, he turned his back on the Jedi Order and the rule of law to become a petty warlord ruling over a feudal state."
"Well, that's certainly a way to phrase it, but no one is telling that story to the Outer Rim." Vos shook his head, bemused.
"It's all over the holonet!" Kenobi replied, and Anakin nodded in agreement.
"It's all over my newsfeed, and I'm sick of hearing about it," his Padawan muttered.
"You think the people of the Outer Rim pay attention to what's coming out of the Core? They hate the Core. The Feed has way more reach, and a lot more people in the Rim are using it, and Dooku dominates the Feed."
Now Obi-Wan felt confused. "What, the rumored Shadowfeed?" As he asked it, Anakin was already typing something on his holocom.
"Looks like it's meant to be a complete alternative to the Holonet." Anakin murmured. "They've got news, weather, public astrogation charts, search engines, everything."
"Does the Jedi Council even know this exists?" Obi-Wan asked, disbelieving. He turned to look at Quinlan. "Why didn't you report this?"
"Why would I?" Vos barked out a laugh. "I don't work for them anymore."
Obi-Wan froze in place. For a moment, he couldn't tell if this was Vos maintaining cover, or if he really no longer saw himself as a Coruscant Jedi.
"Well, it looks like I've given you a lot to chew on," Quinlan said, standing up. "I'm going to go see if Prialla has cooled off. Will you be ready to head to Mandalore in an hour?"
"Yes." Kenobi answered, hesitantly.
"Well, see you on the landing pad." Vos turned and strode away.
Obi-Wan watched the man leave, feeling surprisingly nervous all of a sudden.