This hopelessness that drowns all that I believe

[neverlosemyfocus]

“What? No!” Siri’s voice was ragged, shock and disbelief at the verdict painfully open in her words. They’d found her guilty. No matter her protestations, no matter Obi-Wan’s protestations, Ahsoka’s, Anakin’s... they’d found her guilty. Said that the evidence spoke of her guilt. She was the culprit, there could be no other. As though she could EVER do such a thing to the Temple.

But they thought she had it in her. That she had Fallen, that she had Fallen so far as to attempt to destroy the one place she could call home. The one place she could belong.

Force, she couldn’t breathe for the ache in her chest. Her heart. Despair and desolation in equal measure overwhelmed her, and she gazed numbly at the ground, any more passionate words in her own defence dying in her throat. There was no point. They’d found her guilty. Guilty of treason, sedition against the Republic, murder... conspiracy to commit murder, escape from custody...

And the sentence was death.

She offered no resistance as she was roughly herded away by the guards, heedless of the injuries she’d suffered. She was stunned, her faith in the Order shaken, fractured.

Defeated.

They would claim, no doubt, that she put up resistance and they had to use force to subdue her when it came time for them to place the binders that would cut her off from the Force until her execution on her, but she didn’t. She couldn’t. No matter how much her instincts screamed at her to fight, to escape and prove her innocence... she couldn’t.

The Order had failed her. And that wound cut far deeper than any physical injury she could ever suffer.

The guards tossed her carelessly into her cell, and she could barely do more than clumsily try and take the fall as the hypo injection took hold, sending her spiralling into unconsciousness.

Comments

[master_kenobi]

He felt her restlessness. Slowly, carefully, he reached into the Force, into her mind, and infused it with a sense of calm. A deep breath. Calm and safe.

[neverlosemyfocus]

She would know his presence anywhere. Even exhausted and asleep, barely able to reach the Force, she would know his presence. She took a hitching, unsteady breath, exhaling as tension eased out of her, restlessness easing just a little.

Safe.

She was safe.

She was safe with him.

[master_kenobi]

He put the clothes over the foot of her bed, then went back to reading the evidence over, looking for clues as to who actually did it. The only thing he felt they were right about was that it came from inside the Temple. But who would betray the Order?

[neverlosemyfocus]

When she woke next she felt slightly more… human. She was still exhausted, and hurting, and the backlash from everything still lingered (the betrayal still ached), but she felt more like herself than she had since…

Since.

Brushing blonde hair back off her face, she pushed herself wearily upright, a quick brush of her mind against his in the Force, to reassure herself.

[master_kenobi]

He looked down, over the edge of his bunk, to see her sitting up. He was calm. He'd been reading. He was looking for information that would help them build their case.

[neverlosemyfocus]

She gave him an exhausted, crooked smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, before reaching for the clothing he’d left on the foot of her bed for her. “I’m going to change,” she said quietly, before slowly and carefully finding her way to her feet.

[master_kenobi]

He offered her a small smile back.

"Move carefully. The injection wasn't kind to you."

[neverlosemyfocus]

She nodded, before taking the clothes and slipping into the small ‘fresher. Force, even that short distance drained her, and she set the clothes aside and leaned against the sink, taking in her reflection in the mirror. She scarcely recognized herself; she was haggard, with dark circles under her eyes and the bruises standing out against the paleness of her skin.

They’d forsaken her. Abandoned her. Thrown her to the gundarks. Without even... without even...

Her stomach turned, and she barely managing to fold herself over the toilet before she found herself losing what little her stomach contained. She felt... she didn’t know what she felt. Lost. Numb. Betrayed. Heartbroken. Ill. After rinsing out her mouth, Siri stripped off her prison clothes and stumbled into the sanistream. The water was cold, but she didn’t care. She just... didn’t kriffing care. Exhausted and hurting, she sank to the floor, curling up and burying her head in her arms.

[master_kenobi]

A significant time passed as Obi-Wan grew increasingly concerned that Siri was taking an awfully long time to clean herself up. Eventually he found himself standing outside the door to the Refresher. He lingered a moment. He could tell she was inside. But he could also feel her despair. He knocked softly.

"Siri?"

[neverlosemyfocus]

She didn’t answer; she barely noticed him knocking, or calling her name. She stayed curled up in the sanistream, shivering and struggling against the onslaught of emotions that threatened to overwhelm her. Or maybe they already had. She closed her eyes and exhaled raggedly.

[master_kenobi]

He wasn't sure what to do. Clearly walking in on her in the sanistream was....rude. At best. But she wasn't answering. He banged on the door harder.

"Could you... say something?"

[neverlosemyfocus]

His pounding on the door registered distantly, and she blinked up into the sanistream, blue eyes dull. It took more energy than she had, but she managed to say something as requested. “I’m fine.”

It was as far from the truth as a Jedi could get… but she wasn’t one, at the moment, was she. Her breath caught in her throat and she closed her eyes as the ache of their betrayal overwhelmed her.

She was no longer a Jedi. Not in the eyes of the Order.

[master_kenobi]

He could feel her despair; she was far from 'fine'. There was a pause, and then a wry "...Could you say something that's true?" was called through the door.

[neverlosemyfocus]

His words startled an exhausted laugh out of her, and she tilted her head back against the wall of the sanistream. “… no. I don’t think I can.”

[master_kenobi]

He was at a bit of a loss.

"...Perhaps you could...put some clothes on and come lie to me out here."

[neverlosemyfocus]

“I’d rather stay here and not lie to you at all.” But she pushed wet blonde hair off her face and unsteadily rose to her feet, shivering from the coldness of the water. Shutting off the sanistream, she fumbled for a towel to dry herself off before slipping into the clothing he’d provided.

Once she was dressed, she opened the door to the ‘fresher, pale, exhausted and cold.

[master_kenobi]

"...That's your choice, as well, of course..." His voice trailed off, and he was surprised when the door did open as he lingered outside of it, feeling somewhat useless.

"I have been telling you for years the danger and inherent untrustworthiness of politics. Politics demanded this of the Order and the Order bent to it. It can be fixed," he told her, his tone gentle but confident.

[neverlosemyfocus]

“You were right, Obi-Wan.” A brief almost-smile flickered across her face, because admitting he was right was something she tried to avoid if at all possible, but it was brief and faded rapidly. His words didn’t surprise her, nor his vast ability to find hope in a situation such as this. He was so confident in his belief that what had happened could be fixed. She brushed cold fingertips against his hand. “I don’t know if it can.”

[master_kenobi]

"It can. We must believe it can, because if true justice doesn't exist, than our lives have been wasted in the defence of something that wasn't real."

[neverlosemyfocus]

“I don’t know if I can.” The admission was soft. Pained. The wound was still raw. Still bleeding. “I was barred from the Order, Obi-Wan. They stripped me of my knighthood. I’m not a Jedi anymore.” She leaned wearily against the doorjamb. “Even if we manage to prove my innocence, discover the identity of who framed me, who was truly behind the attack on the Temple... What’s done is done.”

[master_kenobi]

"It can be undone," Obi-Wan told her earnestly. "We will undo it."

[neverlosemyfocus]

“Anything beyond proving my innocence and finding the culprit behind the bombing will unfortunately be the will of the Council.” And she couldn’t seem to find the faith necessary to believe that they would undo what they’d done to her.

[master_kenobi]

"And they cannot stand for justice and not change their verdict once your innocence is proven. You'll see. And if I'm wrong, then I will leave with you."

Because he couldn't stand for that.

[neverlosemyfocus]

She looked at him, stunned. Was he so certain that they would change their verdict that he would risk saying such a thing? He wouldn’t say it if he didn’t mean it. Force, Obi-Wan. “You would leave the Order for this?” For her?

For star’s sake, he’d already broken her out of kriffing PRISON, making himself a fugitive in the process. She didn’t know why this was so much more... shocking. But it was.

[master_kenobi]

"If what we've been told it stands for is all a lie? I certainly will," Obi-Wan said firmly.