"Silent Call"

By Arliss Starborn*

Genre: Romance

Author's Note: This story takes place after a scene in The Clone Wars ep. – Duchess of Mandalore. The scene where Satine calls Obi-Wan "foolhardy" and then takes off in her speeder. CW fans will know what I mean. Obviously, since this is fan-fiction, the rest of the ep. is changed. Hope you enjoy…and PLEASE, post a review! This being my first fanfic, I could use some constructive criticism.

Obi-Wan Kenobi stared after Satine's fast-fading ship. Then abruptly turned his back and stalked into the Jedi Temple, every emotion he had thought was buried, throbbing mercilessly along with the erratic beat of his heart. Stang. She was so…stubborn. He was furious with her, yet she woke the sleeping passion that made him want to take her in his arms, and shield her from the galaxy and its vices. Not that he would ever dare…

Obi-Wan rubbed his forehead. He had sworn an oath that could not, must not, be breached. His face a carefully constructed mask of calm, he nodded to a passing Master. He was careful to tamp down every emotion as they passed. Saesee Tinn was renowned for his ability to pick up on the vaguest thoughts and feelings of other beings. Obi-Wan breathed an inward sigh of relief, as the Jedi Council Member walked by without so much as a curious glance.

The trouble with being a Jedi was being so attune to feeling. Obi-Wan felt with an intensity that never ceased to amaze him. The Force took his senses and emotions, and honed them to the burning sharpness of his lightsaber blade. And it also caused him to feel so deeply that it hurt. The price to pay for the powers the Force had given him.

His mind stretched far beyond weariness, Obi-Wan pushed the thoughts away. Meditation. That was what he needed. He needed his precarious balance restored. With a wave of his hand, and the Force he opened the door to his quarters, locking the door behind him.

Seated in the speeder, between her two ever-watchful guards, Satine felt a pang of regret. She hadn't meant to cut down Obi-Wan so readily with her words. The astonishment and hurt on his drawn features stayed blazing in the front of her mind. With a small frown, she tried to shove the images aside…to no avail.

Giving up, she allowed them to run freely, bringing back memories and long-forgotten conversations. The two of them, hunched over a small fire, waiting for Qui-Gon's return. They'd been on the run for months, with each day growing longer than the last. Out in the wilderness, with nothing but the jutting rocks around them and each other for company. That's when he'd chosen to tell her. "I love you, Satine." She still remembered the jolt of electricity that had fired through her. The statement had come out of nowhere, but somehow, in a way she couldn't understand, she'd known it was coming. His face, tired, streaked with mud- and his features so serious, had warmed her to him. She had reached out and fingered his Padawan braid, just catching the flicker of surprise that danced in his blue-grey eyes. She hadn't said the words that were weighing down her heart like a cold stone. "But you're a Jedi." Every fiber of her had longed to reply to him and tell him how much she longed to be his. But she hadn't. The stiff adult in her had held her back. So she'd nodded, forcing a smile. Something like disappointment had fallen over Obi-Wan. But the stubborn set to his jaw told her he hadn't given up. And Obi-Wan Kenobi was nothing if not stubborn. That should have been the end of it…but it wasn't. If only they'd both left things as they were; left all the raging emotions packed carefully in their boxes, they would have spared themselves so much.

A jolt that rattled through the Senate-issued speeder jerked Satine back to the present.

"The forward stabilizer's been hit!" she heard her pilot, Aramis yell. A wave of confusion shot through Satine. Then with sickening dread, she realized what was happening.

They were going to crash!

Aramis wrestled with the controls for a long moment. "I'm going to try and close to that ledge," he shouted over the noise of the dying speeder. "Get her out of here!"

Realization dawned as her guards firmly seized her arms and prepared to jump. "Aramis! No!" Then she was launched into space, the air whistling fiercely past her ears until they landed with a thud on the durasteel ledge. The impact knocked the wind out of her lungs and the whole world began to darken. She saw Aramis and the speeder crash into a building in a plume of fire and smoke. Then everything went black.