"Thank you," Obi-Wan said with a small smile. "I'm just grateful that I had the opportunity to turn a bad situation into a more tolerable and productive one." He was also incredibly humbled and honored that Qui-Gon had been the one to perform the ceremony. It was rare for Padawans to be knighted by their own Masters, but he wasn't sorry that it had worked out that way in the least.

"It was certainly a unique ceremony," he added. "I wouldn't have had the chance to experience it if I'd been back home."

Everyone has suffered, Renji had said, and Obi-Wan couldn't help but nod in quiet agreement. "This place is filled with pain and suffering. But what happens to one person affects us all in the end. Even though we come from completely different places, worlds, and times, we share a strong, symbiotic relationship. We should support each other when we can."