Meanwhile, Obi-Wan and Satine were engaged in a heated discussion in an empty conference room. This conversation was meant to take place in the hallway, but Obi-Wan hadn't wanted to create an uncomfortable public scene that might make things even worse for Satine. So he had guided her into the nearest unoccupied room he could find.
"Satine, please, don't do anything rash," Obi-Wan said with obvious desperation in his voice.
"Rash?!" Satine shouted furiously. "I am far beyond such concerns now. Your Republic has just made an arbitrary decision about my people's fate without even consulting me!"
"I know, I understand—"
"All of this—your rescue mission, the Avengers' assistance—it was all for nothing," Satine said, barely managing to contain her overwhelming frustration. "Now I have to deal with the consequences of what the Republic is about to inflict upon my people."
"Satine—"
"Obi-Wan, I have to return home. My people need me," she said with quiet determination. "They'll be terrified and confused. I need to prevent the civil unrest that will inevitably grow as Republic forces arrive at our doorstep."
Kenobi opened his mouth to respond, but fell silent when he felt Satine's hand gently touch his cheek as she gazed at him with profound affection, a look that stirred emotions he had long tried to suppress.
"It's all right, Obi-Wan. This situation is beyond anyone's control now," Satine said in an understanding tone that did nothing to ease Kenobi's guilt about the entire situation.
"I'm sorry..."
"You... you did everything you possibly could. I appreciate that more than you know, but right now I need to handle this crisis on my own terms."
She left the room, departed from Coruscant, and returned to Mandalore. Her people needed her leadership now more than ever before.
Kenobi could only stand there in stunned silence, feeling the weight of his failure to prevent this catastrophe from unfolding.
As soon as the Duchess had departed, the three Avengers who had accompanied him entered the conference room where Obi-Wan remained.
"I'm guessing that conversation didn't go as well as you'd hoped," Natasha observed with knowing sympathy.
Obi-Wan simply walked over to a nearby chair and sat down heavily with an exhausted sigh.
"How are you holding up, Obi-Wan?" Steve asked, moving closer to place a comforting hand on the Jedi Master's shoulder.
"I'll be fine," Obi-Wan replied wearily, then sighed again. "Perhaps I just need a full night's rest."
"That might help," Steve agreed thoughtfully. "What about Satine?"
"She's departed for Mandalore to lead her people through this crisis," Kenobi answered quietly.
"What about the Duchess's sister?" Matt inquired. "Has she been released?"
"No, she's still being held in Republic custody," Obi-Wan confirmed.
"Ideally, we'd like her to share whatever intelligence she has about Death Watch operations," Natasha said pragmatically. "But that's highly unlikely. It's going to take considerable time and effort to extract anything useful from her."
Matt simply hummed thoughtfully. "Given everything that's about to unfold, I think getting some proper rest is probably the wisest course of action right now."
"Agreed," Steve said firmly. "Come on, Obi-Wan. Let's head back to the Temple."
They left the Senate building and returned to the familiar sanctuary of the Jedi Temple.
Currently in one of the Temple's training chambers, Peter was wearing an oversized training helmet that nearly engulfed his entire head.
"Do I really have to wear this thing, Obi-Wan? It's way too big for me," Peter complained, tapping the side of the cumbersome helmet.
"Yes, you do need to wear it, Peter."
"Is there a specific reason for this torture?"
"Well, if we're going to properly test and develop your spider-sense abilities, we need to understand how and where they can be most effectively applied," Kenobi explained patiently.
"But I can't see anything through this thing."
Peter attempted to remove the helmet, but Obi-Wan gently knocked his hand away.
"Not being able to see your surroundings is precisely the point."
"I'd much rather just use a simple blindfold."
"Where would be the challenge in that?"
Though his expression was completely hidden, the flat, unimpressed look Peter was undoubtedly giving him was enough to make the Jedi Master chuckle.
"Oh, I don't know—maybe not having to deal with this ridiculously oversized bucket on my head?"
"Well, this particular type of sensory training has been a Jedi tradition for centuries, Peter."
"I'm not a Jedi, Obi-Wan," Peter said with obvious emphasis.
"That may be true, but your spider-sense demonstrates remarkable similarities to certain Jedi abilities."
"What? How do you figure that?"
"Well... not exactly identical, of course. But there's a familiarity to the precognitive warning system that feels very similar to Force sensitivity," Kenobi explained. "While they are unique phenomena, if my instincts are correct, the similarities they share might help you develop better control over your sixth sense."
Parker remained silent for a moment, then let out a resigned sigh.
"All right, let's get this over with."
Obi-Wan activated several remote training droids that floated into the air and began hovering in a circle around the young Earthling.
"Now, focus on dodging the stun blasts."
"Wait, I'm sorry, but what—"
The first droid immediately fired a low-powered blast that struck Peter's arm.
"Ow! That actually hurt!"
"Be grateful these are set to the lowest possible setting," Kenobi said with barely concealed amusement.
Peter muttered under his breath while adjusting his helmet irritably. "Come on, you stupid spider-sense."
For the next several minutes, he continued getting hit by the training droids floating around him. Initially, it had been somewhat entertaining for the Jedi Master to watch Peter doing his best to avoid the incoming shots. But now it was becoming genuinely concerning.
Peter finally dropped to the ground in frustration and yanked off the helmet, tossing it aside with obvious annoyance.
"Okay, that's enough! I'm not wearing this oversized bucket for another second!"
"Yes..." Obi-Wan stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Perhaps this traditional approach isn't the most effective way to begin your training."
"You think?!" Peter snapped sarcastically, then climbed back to his feet.
The Jedi Master adopted a more contemplative expression. "Perhaps an alternative approach would be more productive."
"Like what exactly?" Peter asked with obvious skepticism.
Obi-Wan hummed thoughtfully, his gaze shifting between Peter, the discarded helmet, and back to the young hero.
"Tell me something, Peter—what was it like when you first gained these powers?" Obi-Wan asked with genuine curiosity.
Peter studied the Jedi Master carefully, crossing his arms as he recalled those first few chaotic weeks after acquiring his abilities. It was always somewhat difficult to discuss that period, as it remained closely tied to one of the darkest times in his life, but for the sake of improving his training...
"Well... let's just say it was completely overwhelming. It felt like all my senses had been cranked up to eleven simultaneously."
"Excuse me?"
"Sorry, that's Earth slang. What I'm trying to say is... my senses became so incredibly heightened that it was nearly impossible to function normally," Peter elaborated. "There was so much sensory information flooding my brain at once that it took weeks just to learn how to cope with it all."
Obi-Wan nodded thoughtfully at this revelation, the gears turning in his mind as he processed what he had just learned.
"Perhaps we've been approaching this training completely backwards," Kenobi admitted. "We've been trying to jump directly into advanced techniques instead of working on mastering the fundamentals."
"So what should we do instead?" Peter asked, straightening up with renewed interest.
Kenobi walked over to the young hero and placed an encouraging hand on his shoulder.
"Now we start with the absolute basics," Kenobi said with a slight smile. "You already have the foundation, but once you truly master the fundamentals, nothing will be beyond your reach."
"What kind of basics are we talking about?"
"Let's get creative with this," Kenobi smiled warmly.
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