It was that feeling you got before disaster, before everything went wrong that was nagging at Obi-Wan as he kneeled on the floor of Sundari's throne room with Maul's supercommando's pointing blasters at his head. As a Jedi, he was familiar with the feeling, but not once had he been so desperate to change it.
He knew Satine was about to die. It was the feeling of impending doom that had him frozen in place, unable to move. Despite the code he had lived by his whole life, he felt as if he needed to protect, to help her now, yet still he couldn't do anything. He just knelt, watching as she struggled, clawing at the invisible hand grasping her throat.
"Your emotions betray you," Maul spat, taunting the Jedi master, "you fear and, yes," he hissed, "your anger. Let your anger deepen your hatred!"
Shutting his eyes, unable to look at Satine in pain, Obi-Wan reflected upon what Maul head said. It was all true. He was afraid of loosing someone else he cared about. Lost in thought, it was her words that brought him back into reality. "Don't listen to him, Obi," Satine managed to choke out despite the grasp on her neck. She was right, he couldn't, wouldn't, let his fear and anger get the better of him.
Fighting against the ache in his chest, Obi-Wan used all his strength to speak. Even as the words escaped his lips, his mind was somewhere else. He knew the feeling of dread and fear that possesses him It was the same feeling he had as a young padawan when he stood helplessly in the moments before the same creature killed his master. He wouldn't let Satine face the same terrible fate with him standing helplessly to the side, she deserved better. He couldn't lose her too. The grips of the men holding him only tightened as he struggled against them.
Obi-Wan knew the force wasn't restricted now, it was freely flowing through him. He remembered what Master Qui-Gon had told him once, do not live in the past, focus of what is happening here and now, and in this moment it made more sense than ever. He could feel a spark ignite inside of him and the force strengthen around him, he embraced it.
The Jedi had always believed that emotions made you weaker. His whole life he had been taught that if you got attached to someone or something you were more vulnerable to the dark side, but now he knew it wasn't true. It was impossible to deny it now with fear creeping upon him. In this moment where he faced losing her, he finally admitted to himself that he loved her, more than anything, and he was not about to lose her.
Obi-Wan found himself looking back at Satine, her teeth clenched in pain as Maul tightened his grip and dragged her forward using the force He knew if he didn't act now she would die. The men behind him shoved him to his knees before forcing him, once again, to look up. In that moment Maul activated his lightsaber, its black blade humming to life, and it seemed time began to slow down. Obi-Wan caught one last glance of Satine as she was consumed by fear before closing his eyes and feeling the force flow through him, strengthening more and more. Finally, using his newfound strength, he pulled his hands free from the grips of the supercommando's and using the force, he pushed Satine out of Maul's grip right before the darksaber impaled her. The room feel silent except for the thud of her body hitting the floor and the whimper in pain before she fell unconscious.
Maul's stunned expression turned to disgust as he began to charge at Obi-Wan, both his red and black sabers now activated, with Savage at his side. Without any effort, Obi-Wan let the force push the two dathomirian brothers back. They simultaneously hit the glass wall behind the throne Maul had been seated in minutes before, shattering it, sending thousands of shards throughout the room, and then falling to the ground below them. The force was stronger than usual now, and Obi-Wan knew it was because he had stopped denying his feeling. His love for Satine didn't inhibit his ability, it only gave him more strength.
Behind him, the Maul's soldiers stood dazed. Not knowing what to do or who to take orders from, they upholstered their blasters and began to shoot at the Jedi target. Obi-Wan gave them a slight nudge with the force and they stumbled backwards, struggling against the strange invisible power that was pushing them. Taking advantage of the confusion, the Jedi master summoned his lightsaber from on of the dazed supercommando's, attached it to his belt, and ran to Satine's unconscious body. He picked her up, resting one hand under her legs while the other supported her back. Unknowingly, she rested her head on his shoulder. He ran past the fazed guards as fast as he could, Satine's weight barely restricting his ability. He knew that he should be exhausted after using the force to such extent, but he wasn't worn down in the least bit. He could still feel the strength of the force rushing through him as he ran out of the deteriorating throne room. The evidence of earlier attacks was clearly visible through broken glass windows and soot covering the ground were an explosion had been set off earlier.
He reached the doors to the palace and used to force to open them, revealing the capital of Mandalore caught in the crossfire of Maul's soldiers and the former Death Watch. Buildings were crumbling as fires and deafening explosions were set off. Mandalorians were caught shooting at each other, some even in fistfights. It was exactly what Satine had fought so hard to end. Within a few days, not only had she been dethroned, but all her work had gone to waste. The peaceful Mandalore was gone, caught in civil war again. Obi-Wan was glad that Satine was unconscious and couldn't see it, she didn't deserve any of this. Despite that fact that he had saved her, he could feel a part of Satine die with the pacifist ways of Mandalore.
Unable to watch anymore, Obi-Wan began to run again, creeping along to outskirts to stay out of the lines of fire. He reached a speeder and climbed on. He set Satine down on his lap, keeping on arm firmly wrapped around her waist while the other steered the speeder. He took off, watching as Sundari erupted into flames around around him, burning down the palace, taking Satine's legacy with it. When a few Mandalorians in blue armor appeared behind him, protecting the Jedi and former Duchess from the supercommando's attacks, Obi-Wan was only vaguely aware. His only focus was getting Satine to safety. Barely audible compared to Satine's slightly struggling breath, blasters continued to fire. Obi-Wan drove the speeder into a tunnel leading to the docking bay and quickly halted it, jumping off and running to the nearest ship, using his own body to protect his love. He was about to enter the nearest ship when one of the Death Watch members that had been protecting him walked up and took off her helmet. Her red hair fell loosely to about her shoulders and her striking green eyes stared at him accusingly.
"You better take good care of her," she nodded slightly at Satine's limp body, the duchess's head still resting on Obi-Wan's shoulder with her face half buried in his hair, "After all this, it would a shame if she died on your watch, Jetii." She gave him an untrusting glare and Obi-Wan surprisingly smiled at her hostility.
"I can promise you, I'd give my life to keep her safe," he replied with a quick glance down at Satine. Even while unconscious, she looked so peaceful. It pained him to think about what she had been through, her words when he first arrived ringing through his head. Here to do more of your master's bidding. He would remember to ask her about it later, when she was ready. For now, his attention was back on the other Mandalorian woman. Her lips had turned upwards into a small smile at his last words, but instead of continuing on Satine's protection, she changed the topic.
"Tell your Republic what has happened," she spoke over the sound off blasters and explosions. Obi-Wan knew what this would lead to, and based on the woman's expression, she did too.
"That will likely lead to a Republic invasion of Mandalore!" Obi-Wan responded, pulling Satine closer as another explosion went off, rattling the ground. That was the last thing that she would want! The red headed woman continued to shot at the incoming supercommando's, ignoring the frown that had fallen over Obi-Wan's face.
"Yes, and Maul will die, but Mandalore will survive. We always survive." She turned towards Obi-Wan. The look she wore was familiar, the Jedi master knew he had seen it before in someone else he knew… her words, the determination, he recognized it all.
"Your Satine's sister aren't you," he asked. She didn't reply, but the pained look she gave him showed it all. The woman's eyes once again fell on Satine. She sighed before turning back to the battle and charging in, covering Obi-Wan as he ran up the ramp of the ship. He entered the cockpit, Satine still in his arms, not bothering to sit. He only began to relax after he had entered the coordinates for Coruscant and sent the ship into hyperspace. He was safe now. They were safe now.
Obi-Wan gently set Satine down on the medical bay's bed, tugging one of the pillows over and placing it under her head. He sat down next to her and carefully, making sure not to hurt her more, took her hand in his and laced their fingers together. With his free hand he reached up and brushed her hair behind her ear. He remained sitting there with one hand intertwined with hers and the other cupping her cheek for a minute. Just looking at her like this, he would never believe she had been so close to death. It was her struggling breath that brought him back to reality. Obi-Wan moved his hand from her cheek to her neck, gently resting his fingers against her skin. He let the force flow through him, healing Satine. Slowly, her breath returned to normal.
He let his eyes quickly scan over her, stopping when he caught sight of a tear in her dress, evidence that he hadn't been fast enough to save her from Maul unscathed. Hesitantly, he let go of Satine's hand and stood up, searching for a med kit. Finding one buried under a pile of spare parts and tools, he grabbed a bacta pad and walked back to the bed he had set Satine on. The cut itself wasn't very deep, but Obi-Wan knew from experience that lightsaber burns stung and left a scar no matter how small. Pushing some of the fabric of her dress away from the wound, he tried to use the force to heal her, but it didn't have the same effect as it did on her neck. His strength was fading fast as the exhaustion from his surge of power from earlier was beginning to hit him. On the brink of passing out, he cleaned the wound and gently placed the bacta pads over the burn. Force summoning a chair over to him, he took Satine's hand in his own again and sat down, leaning back before closing his eyes to finally rest. The last thing he remembered before he faded into sleep was Satine almost instinctively intertwining her fingers with his.
