Star Wars - Kenobi

plan.”
    Annileen sat forward on the bed and appealed to him. “Ben, no. Seriously. You said yourself he hadn’t killed any settlers. He’s not some galactic menace—”
    “There are monsters in all walks of life,” Ben said. “One doesn’t need unlimited power to create victims. One just needs to be desperate.”
    “There’s still good in him,” Annileen said, thinking of the smiling man she’d known for years. “I admit he’s a lying, cheating, out-of-control scoundrel and that it’s hard to see the good—”
    “Maybe there is good,” Ben said, rising from the floor. “There’s good in most. But look at what he’s done. What he’s willing to do. Where do you draw the line?”
    The question made Annileen dizzy. “I thought you two were friends.”
    Ben fixed his gaze on a darkened corner. “I don’t know that we were,” he said, softly. “But even if we’d been friends for years, things would be no different. When friends go wrong, you don’t get a choice about what to do.”
    “It sounds … like you know something about that.”
    “More than I ever wanted to,” he murmured. He looked away.
    Annileen stood. Ben had to be reasoned with. Yes, Orrin’s crimes would hurt the Calwells if exposed, even if Jabe’s role in the Ulbreck attack never became known. The families were linked in the eyes of the whole oasis, and she had been profiting from the Fund’s weapons purchases. All might well be lost for her as well as Orrin. But she couldn’t risk another life being destroyed.
    She reached for him. “You don’t have to face him, Ben. This isn’t your responsibility.”
    “No,” Ben said, turning his back to her. “It’s in motion. He’ll call out his allies to silence me, and I’ll call on my own.” He didn’t explain who or what they were. “But no matter what the end, your path is clear.”
    “My path?” she asked.
    Ben turned and placed his hands gently on her shoulders. “Annileen, do you trust me?”
    “What?”
    “Do you trust me? To know what to do now?”
    “Yes,” she whispered without pause. “Absolutely.” Like no one since Dannar, she nearly said.
    He looked her in the eye. “What are you prepared to give up, to save your future?”
    Annileen inhaled deeply. “A few hours ago, I was ready to give up everything to rescue my son.”
    “That’s what I needed to hear,” Ben said. He spoke urgently. “Tomorrow, when Orrin comes for me, I want you to clear out. You, and your family. Take what you need, but also take what you don’t want to lose. Because you will never be coming back.”
    Annileen’s heart caught in her throat. “It’s that bad?”
    His eyes bored into hers. “I think you know it is. I said I could handle Orrin, and I will. But if we do what’s right, the lives of you and your children here are collateral damage. I’m sorry.” He looked down. “I’d stop it if I could. I know there’s nothing worse than losing a home you’ve known for years. But I can’t see any future where that doesn’t happen.”
    Annileen’s tears were flowing now. She didn’t know what to say, other than that he was right. She survived entirely upon her neighbors’ trust. When the truth came out, what had taken twenty years to build would vanish in an instant, no matter how they’d felt about her before.
    He dabbed at her cheeks gently with the back of his hand. “It isn’t fair, I know. The order in our lives can simply vanish. Sometimes it’s because we’re not diligent. Sometimes it’s no one’s fault—”
    Sniffling, she looked up at him. “No,” she said, wiping her face. “It was my fault. I wasn’t diligent.” A feeling of resolve came over her. A second wind—or whatever had blown Ben into her world? It didn’t matter. She’d had her low moment. Weakness wasn’t in her. She straightened her shoulders. “All right,” she said, “let’s fix this. I’m ready.”
    Ben brightened. “All right, then.” He turned and hoisted himself up to the windowsill. “Start packing. Make the arrangements you need, but tell no one else. Join me again just before the suns set. My work should be done, then.”
    She handed his cloak to him. “Where will I be going?”
    “My house,” Ben said. “And that’s just the start.”
    Meditation
    I am putting an end to this.
    You see where I am, Qui-Gon. Sitting in the cold, alone on a hillside, waiting for the suns to rise. You see what I’ve been doing, the steps I’ve taken.
    Moreover,