His voice caught in his throat when Maul lifted Satine off the ground with a simple raise of his hand, pretending to grab her neck. The gasp she emitted caused his stomach to turn. The duchess clawed at the imaginary fingers suddenly constricting her neck. Obi-Wan watched helplessly. He wanted to move, wanted to act, wanted to get her as far away from this place as possible. If he didn't think and burst into action, he could just be shot by the Death Watch warriors that had their guns right on his back, and Maul might just end Satine right there. Trying to gather his focus and control, he looked back at Maul.
"You should have chosen the dark side, Master Jedi," Maul said, tantalizing him as he stepped down from the throne that rightfully belonged to Satine. "Your thoughts betray you. Your fear..." He almost smiled when he saw his enemy look down and scrunch up his face. "... and yes, your anger! Let your anger deepen your hatred!"
"Don't listen to him, Obi," Satine managed to gasp out.
"Quiet," Savage growled. His brother held up a hand to stop him.
Obi-Wan took a deep breath. "You can kill me, but you will never destroy me. It takes strength to resist the dark side. Only the weak embrace it!" He involuntarily surged forward as he grew frustrated, and the warriors pulled him back.
Maul glared at him. "It is more powerful than you know."
"And those who oppose it are more powerful than you'll ever be." His eyes filled with pity as he remembered what Mother Talzin had told him about Maul and his brother. "I know where you're from, I've been to your village. I know the decision to join the dark side wasn't yours. The Nightsisters made it for you-"
"Silence!" the Zabrak hissed. "You think you know me? It was I who languished for years thinking of nothing but you. Nothing but this moment." He pointed to Satine, who was still struggling against his invisible grip. "And now, the perfect tool for my vengeance is in front of us. I never planned on killing you, but I will make you share my pain, Kenobi." He spat out his name with venom, then ignited the black blade of his darksaber.
One of the warriors rammed his knee into his back, and the other shoved him down with his blaster, forcing him as his knees as Maul raised his darksaber and brought Satine forward with a smile and a wave of his hand. No one exactly knew what happened in the next couple of seconds. They were all sure that Maul was about to finish his task, but Obi-Wan had slightly different plans. Reaching out with the Force, he flung everyone back against the wall, breaking a few windows, and shattering a chandelier. Somewhere in the middle of all that, an explosion went off, knocking Obi-Wan across the room. With smoke and debris everywhere, Obi-Wan made his way over to the throne with only one thing on his mind: Satine. His foot hit something on the floor. His lightsaber! Clipping it to his belt, he resumed his search. He went into a state of panic when he saw a pool of blood near her still form. Exhaustion eating at him, he stumbled over, dropping on his knees beside her. When he saw the blood spilling from her side, his face grew pale. Quickly, he scooped her into his arms and heaved himself to his feet, running as fast as his weary body would let him. Once he got outside the palace, he found himself in the middle of what appeared to be a war zone. Explosions rocked the ground, blaster and cannon fire ripped through the sky.
"Need some help?" a voice to his right asked. Obi-Wan turned to see what looked like a boy who was about seventeen or eighteen. He had blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. He held his helmet under his arm, a blaster in his other hand. "You're Master Kenobi, aren't you? My auntie knew you'd... " His jaw dropped when he saw her wound. "What happened?!"
"Long story. We need to get her to a medic as soon as possible," he responded. "Also, I need a ship."
"We already have one waiting for you," another voice said, this one feminine and muffled by her helmet. She held up a jetpack. "Ever use one of these before?"
He shook his head as he turned so she could attach it to his back. "No, but in this case, I'm a fast leaner."
Holding on tight to the duchess, he took off with his two new allies behind him. The thought that they could just be leading him into another trap did cross his mind since he had no idea who they were. What did the boy call her? "Auntie"? He didn't recall Satine ever telling him that she had a sibling. In the end, his skepticism didn't really matter since he got what he needed: a ship. The ramp slowly lowered down, and another warrior in blue and black armor rushed down, nodding to the boy as he pulled out a blaster from its holster. Obi-Wan, with Satine in his arms, and the boy ran up the ramp. The woman stopped the Jedi before he could close the ramp.
"Go back to your Republic and tell them what has happened," she said, turning back to the battlefield, firing several times.
The Great Negotiator was taken aback. "That would likely lead to a Republic invasion of Mandalore!" Satine would not like that at all.
"Yes, and Maul will die, but Mandalore will survive. We always survive." She pointed to the ship with her gun. "Now go."
"Auntie," the boy's voice squeaked, "I thought you were-"
She took off her helmet, shaking her head of red hair and offering a small smile despite the horrid situation. "My place is here. Satine knows that, and so do you. I'll be fine. Take care of them, you hear?"
With a somber nod, the boy went up the ramp to the cockpit. Obi-Wan stayed still. His mind was swimming in questions.
"You are Satine's sister, aren't you?"
She was silent, but her sorrow and worry filled green eyes spoke for her.
"I'll take good care of her, I promise." With that, he boarded the ship. He was pretty sure he heard her mumble something along the lines of "I'm sure you will" and he didn't quite know how to interpret that. Aches in his arms he didn't even realize he had up until then abated when he laid the duchess down in the med bay. She was still out, cold. He did what he could to dress the gash in her side. This wasn't the first time he had to doctor her because of a mistake he made. Memories practically stared him in the face as he saw the scar as a result of him dropping her all those years ago. A blush creeped up on his neck, then his cheeks as he tried in vain to stomp it down. Thank the Force no one was here to see-
"Will she be all right?"
Taken by surprise, the Jedi spun around and practically threw the rag he was using to clean the blood from her clothes across the room. The boy was standing in the doorway. "What? Um, ah... yes. She needs some, um, rest but, uh... yeah. She'll probably need to see an actual doctor and get stitches, but... yeah... uh... yeah."
"You probably don't remember me," he said with a smile, leaning up against the doorframe. He proceeded to explain when Obi-Wan shook his head. "I'm Satine's nephew, Korkie. I was only a few weeks old when you last saw me. Or, at least, that's what my Auntie told me. My father had died a few months before, and my mother passed away when I was little. Auntie Satine said that you and your master were with her when she first met me. You might not remember."
The Jedi's eyes lightened with remembrance. "I actually do recall that. Satine was really distressed, and taking care of you for a bit managed to lift her spirits. It might have been because of..."
"My father?" Korkie guessed.
"Yes," Obi-Wan looked down. He didn't know if bringing up the topic would cause any stress for him. "What was his name?"
"Ben."
An answer so simple, so subtle, but to Obi-Wan, it felt like someone took a knife through his chest and twisted it. Ben. Was that why Satine called him that? Did he remind her of her brother that much? His face paled. Never had he thought much of the name. Yes, he liked it, and liked when she called him that. How was he to know it was more than a simple nickname?!
"Does that name have any particular meaning in Mandalorian culture?" he asked, his voice shaking a bit.
Korkie pondered that question for a bit, rubbing his chin. "I'm not really sure, but I think it means somewhere along the lines of 'protector.' It fit my father perfectly since he protected his family." He chuckled. "Auntie Satine said that he was always super protective of her."
All Obi-Wan could do was nod. Somewhere in the middle of him processing all the new information, Korkie went back to the cockpit. Collapsing in the chair next to the medical bed, he ran his hand through his hair. Why hadn't she told him before? He looked over at the duchess. Her breathing was finally evening out, and her skin wasn't as pale as it was. So much had happened so quickly. Maul took over Mandalore with the help of crime families, Obi-Wan had to rescue Satine, he found out Korkie was Satine's nephew, and now her nickname for him had an entire different meaning. He reached out for her hand and held it in his own, stroking the back with his thumb. Waking her up didn't seem like the best option, so he just settled for enclosing his hand around hers and drifting off in the chair beside her.