This whole story came about because of my three favorite starships Kryze/Kenobi, Ventress/Vos, and Hera/Kanan two of them already had novels written about them. i highly recommend both "Dark Disciple" and "New Dawn" both of which are canon and i don't attempt to compare this effort to those or to claim the characters as my own. enjoy.

Prologue

Just that morning another one of the supposedly neutral systems she had been chosen to represent had been swept over to the side of the Separatists. She stood over a holotable map of the galaxy. The systems were color coded according to their alliance to the Republic or the CIS or her own, because she did think of them as her own, the systems she was sworn to protect from having to choose sides. She felt like a General surveying battle plans and she hated the feeling. She had a little more sympathy for the Jedi at times like this, guardians of peace dragged into this terrible, bloody war. Even the peace talks she had hosted between the Republic and Separatists had fallen apart after Lux Bonteri had barged in claiming Count Dooku had killed his mother.

It was hard enough ruling her own system. She was thankful to Padawan Tano for helping her to undercover the plot of her greedy Prime Minister and getting much needed supplies back into hands of her people who needed them. She felt that with Almec locked up, however, that she had lost another friend and ally and she knew that there were those who believed she had only invented the whole conspiracy so she could be rid of her co-ruler and have more power for herself. It was simply not true and in the year since, ruling alone had proved to be not only lonely but exhausting. Having it all thrust upon her, she couldn't see how anyone would seek out that much power.

She longed for a simpler time. Not that her life had ever been simple. The responsibility of leadership had been granted to her at an early age and along with it the threats of all those who wanted to use her power for their own devices. There were so many friends who turned out to be enemies and the enemies of her people turned out to be her saviors.

Well, there was no point in dwelling on her past. She had a hundred things that needed her attention. She deactivated the map on the holotable and thought about who she needed to inform first from the council of neutral systems about this latest loss to their cause. Maybe she should just call a meeting of the whole council to discuss it but with as many losses as they had seen to one side or the other it seemed pointless to call a meeting for every single one.

It was then when a flashing light indicated to her that someone was sending her a com. The image came into focus over the table. She was pleased to see it was a friend and hoped it was not business.

"Senator Amidala, how good it is to hear from you. Is everything well?"

"Satine." The use of her first name and the tone in the senator's voice was her first warning that all was not well. "You must hurry to Coruscant."

"What is it, Padme? Some problem with our cause in the senate?"

"No Satine. It's Obi-wan. He's ... dead."

Satine reached out to the holotable for support. "No. He's..." the room seemed to swirl around her. Padme's image reached out toward her but there was nothing she could do, not being physically present.

The Duchess tried to gain enough control to ask the necessary questions. "Was it a battle? The clones brought his body back to the temple?"

"No it was here, a sniper, a bounty hunter they think."

It wasn't right. He was a General, fighting for the peace of the republic. As much as she didn't agree with the war, she knew he would have wanted to return to the force while fighting along side his men. Not in some cowardly attack in the city streets.

"Will they..." she didn't want to say the words. "burn his body? I know that is usually the Jedi way."

"No." Padme smiled sadly. "He's to be entombed at the temple. I'm not sure why they chose to give him this honor but I thought that you should know, that you should be here."

"I'll be on my way within the hour." Satine's mind whirled with the plans that needed to be set into action for her departure. "Please, Padme. If you could delay them till I arrive."

"I'll do the best that I can."

She sent a com to have her things packed, another to ready her shuttle and then the one that she was still unsure about. The image of a young woman in a Royal Academy cadet's uniform formed over the table. She must have been an intern in the academy office.
"Duchess Satine, what can we do for you today?"

"Cadet Korkie, is he..."

The secretary consulted a datapad. "Looks like he's in an economics lecture. Would you like me to summon him for you?" Her image smiled, glad to be of service to the duchess.

Satine paused. He should be there but what sort of light would his presence shine on the memory of the deceased. There was so much she would have to explain to Korkie, to the council, and no time. "No," Satine answered quietly. "When he's finished with his lesson please let him know that I'll be going to Coruscant for a few days. I'll send him a com when I get the chance."

The duchess didn't always inform her nephew when she was going to be leaving the planet and she hoped it didn't appear suspicious.

"I'll let him know, Your Grace." The secretary saluted in the manor of the Academy cadets and ended the com.

The tears didn't come while she finished her preparations to leave Mandalore or while she was alone in the cabin of her shuttle on the way to Coruscant or when she arrived at the Jedi Temple and was met by Padme and Jedi Master Shaak Ti. The two women led her quietly through the halls to the place where Obi-wan Kenobi would be laid to rest. It was the way they treated her, like a grieving widow, that brought on the tears. That, and seeing General Skywalker, always a loose cannon, standing so dark and cold and apart from the others. She knew he had seen Obi as a father or a brother.

No words were spoken as his shroud covered body was lowered into the floor, panels slid shut to cover him and a bright light shown. Then one by one the Jedi knights and Masters slipped quietly out of the chamber. Two or three of them gave her shoulder a compassionate squeeze or pat as they passed by, but still no one said a word. Maybe it was their philosophy of non-attachment or their belief that life didn't end and only transfered into the force that allowed them to grieve so solemnly but Satine wanted to scream. Part of her heart was closed there under those panels and always would be.

Slowly the duchess bent and touched the floor, her tears wetting the surface. There were so many things she wanted to tell him. It seemed whenever they had met in the past few years they had argued. Now she regretted every angry word she had spoken.

When she rose again there were only she, Padme, Padawan Tano and General Skywalker still surrounding the grave. Padawan Tano bowed respectfully to her and broke the silence, "I'm so sorry for your loss. I didn't realize you were so close to Master Obi-wan."

No one else spoke but Satine noticed a slight change in Skywalker's expression. A raised eyebrow in Padme's direction. Padme just smiled sadly.

The duchess nodded at the Padawan. "It was a long time ago, but I've never forgotten."

"Ladies," Skywalker bowed. He seemed to have come to the end of his patience, spun around, and left the chamber.

His Padawan looked as though she didn't know whether to follow him or not. She hurriedly nodded to each of them, "Padme, Duchess." And then as she ran after her master she turned back for a second, "Don't worry. We'll find the Sleemo who did this."

Satine wanted to stop her, to tell her that revenge is not what Obi-wan would have wanted but the girl was already gone.

Padme touched her arm. "Come on. We'll go to my apartment and have a drink."

Satine would have been lost if she hadn't had the senator to guide her through the temple halls but before the got to the entrance a clone with yellow markings on his armor came running toward them.

"Senator, Duchess." He nodded to each of them and then seemingly awkward about conversing with civilian females, took off his helmet.

Satine gave a small intake of breath. That face repeated so indefinitely always set her on guard. But the clone didn't seem to notice.

"Hello Cody," Padme greeted him politely.

"I've missed it, haven't I? They've already... laid him to rest."

The senator nodded. "Yes, they have, but if you ask one of the Padawans, I'm sure they could show you the way to the grave."

"No, no. I won't bother them." The clone, Cody, wiped a glove across his eyes and then looked directly at the duchess. Those eyes were so unnerving. "I'm sorry, Your Grace. He was a good general, a good man."

"Cody, Commander Cody." She realized. "You were on the Coronet. You helped get rid of those assassin droids."

"That's right, Your Grace." He smiled and stood at attention, still sad but proud of the service he had provided for her.

"Thank you, Cody."

"Well, I - I won't keep you." The clone stepped to the side to allow them to pass and bowed his head.

Padme led Satine on towards the entrance of the temple but the duchess looked back and she was sure she saw Cody's shoulders shudder with a sob.

"That clone was crying," Satine broke the silence a few minutes later when she and Padme were riding in a transport through Coruscant traffic from the temple to the senator's apartment.

"Yes, I believe he was." She had been looking out the window at the city, thinking, but now the senator turned to face her friend. "Cody served under General Kenobi for some time. They fought a lot of battles together."

"I can understand the bond that forms under that kind of pressure. I just never imagined seeing a show of emotion like that from a clone."

"Well they aren't droids." Padme mused, not unkindly. "They're men with feelings though I don't think all of their Generals treat them as kindly as Master Kenobi did."

"That face though." Satine shuddered. "I still see that face in my nightmares. It was the face of one of the Bounty Hunters that was sent after me during our civil war."

"Jango Fett, was sent after you during the Mandalorian Civil War?"

The duchess nodded. "Was that his name? He captured me once before Master Qui-gon and Obi-wan came to my rescue."

"I'd like to hear that story some time." Padme smiled. "Would you believe Jango Fett was sent after me once also and it was Obi-wan and Anakin who tracked him down?"

"Who knew we had so much in common?" Satine smiled sadly.

At Padme's apartment, the duchess was told to sit down and put her feet up and given mint hot cocoa with a generous amount of alcohol. The senator didn't push her too talk. The two women sat quietly sipping their drinks until they both heard the door swish open. Satine wondered who would be so bold to enter without knocking when she heard Skywalker's voice.

"Padme?"

The senator set down her mug and rose to meet him at the door.

"Anakin, I..."

Satine turned and looked back at the doorway and almost choked on a mouthful of her drink. General Skywalker was passionately kissing her friend, till Padme gently pushed him away.

"Anakin, I have a guest." Padme nodded toward the living room and Skywalker spun on the spot.

Satine swallowed and lifted her glass to him.

"Duchess." He looked back and forth between the two women.

"Don't worry. I'm very good at keeping secrets." Satine turned her back to them and took another sip of her drink.

"I'll just tell both of you then." Said Skywalker. "We know who the sniper was. Ahsoka and I are going after him now. We will bring him to justice, Duchess. He won't get away with what he did to Obi-wan."

Satine nodded but didn't look at him again. The couple said their goodbyes and then before he left, Skywalker turned again and spoke to her. "Obi-wan never would tell me. Were you and he ever..."

Maybe it was the alcohol beginning to take effect but in answer she only raised her hand and gave him a thumbs up.

"Okay then. I'll leave you two ladies to chat and go catch the bad guy."

Padme saw him out the door and then came back into the living room, took her seat across from Satine, picked up her mug, and smiled, "Now you really are going to have to tell me this story."

"I think I actually might be ready to tell it...

When my world was at war he was my

PEACE

I was young and ignorant and he gave me

KNOWLEDGE

He balanced my passion with his

SERENITY

While all around us was chaos we found

HARMONY

He was

THE FORCE

that kept me going.

to me he was the embodiment of the Jedi Code

It was only when I had to hide what we once were

that there came

Fear

Anger

Suffering