This is an AU: I am knowingly deviating to improve this story.

Chapter 16 - Queen of Peace

Leia had been having many strange dreams. And as she walked through the halls of her old home, she wondered when Han would wake her for the day to come.

Every time she crossed Luke in this dream he seemed to become… more and more sad. She had never met her birth mother, not truly, but the one impression of her she had reminded her of Luke.

Murdering Darth Vader had been fun until the darkness had swallowed her, like falling down a dark hole that meant to eat her, only for the dream to alter and to find herself blinded by the double suns of Tatooine. She had never set foot on the planet as she had meant to.

She hadn't attacked young Vader again when he appeared, not because she didn't want to but because Luke had been more important.

As she walked through her dreamscape now, she heard voices echoing through the halls, she ducked behind a pillar like she had a million times as a child.

"In your own body?" said a man she didn't know.

"Obi-Wan, what do you know?" said a voice she regrettably did know.

Darth Vader, who was impossibly her birth father. Papa had only told her who her birth parents were when she was old enough to keep her mouth shut about their identities. But Bail hadn't told her that the Jedi Knight, Anakin Skywalker, the Hero With No Fear, had been Darth Kriffing Vader.

The knowledge that he had been a decent enough person once just made her hate him more. It made everything all that much more personal. Darth Vader had murdered her birth mother, tortured her, stood by while her homeworld was destroyed and all the while being completely ignorant of their relation.

Even though she knew she looked like her birth mother. How could he have tortured her for hours and not have recognized her?

If he hadn't been so focused on the location of the Rebel base, on destroying what was left of her family and friends, she might have broken and revealed less precious secrets.

What would Vader have done if she confessed to having a Jedi as a father? She had thought that particular Jedi would have been hated most by the Empire, that was the impression Papa had given her at any rate.

She had never guessed that Anakin Skywalker had been the Emperor's personal weapon, his perfect weapon against the Jedi Order.

Only when Luke had told her the truth did she really understand her peril.

She would have been enslaved to the Emperor. She would have wished for death long before she was granted that reprieve.

It sickened her that that was the fate Luke had run toward. And she had failed in convincing him to stay.

There's good in him still, I can feel it.

But Luke didn't know how much blood was on Vader's hands. She knew his crimes.

He was the worst of traitors. A monster down to his core.

"-Because he isn't you," Obi-Wan Kenobi was saying.

"There's someone running around in my body?" Darth Vader asked.

What a strange question, she mused.

But Kenobi's following questions were stranger, "Whose body are you in? More importantly, where are you?"

"I don't know they just keep calling me-" Vader was cut off.

Leia peeked around the corner as Kenobi cursed.

"Who are you?" a familiar voice asked.

She spun, a gasp on her lips as she looked up into the eyes of a man she thought she would never see again. "Papa?"

He frowned slightly, but cocked his head in interest, "You look like an Alderaanian princess."

A quick glance down at herself and she saw that she was wearing her white dress and knew that her hair was bunned on either side of her had in the signature braids her Mama had always done up for her.

Leia lifted her chin and spoke with the authority he had taught her to speak, "That's because I am Leia Organa, Princess of Alderaan." Her voice faltered a bit, "I'm your daughter."

Bail Organa's dark brows pinched together before comprehension broke across his features. He reached a hand out to touch her cheek, "Breha finally agreed to adopt a daughter?"

Leia nodded, reaching out to his hand as he cupped her cheek. "Yes, Papa, and no daughter in the galaxy was as loved as me."

"I- that is we, were always worried about adopting as the nature of our throne is hereditary. That's a lot to ask of a child, and adopting an older girl who could have understood what we were asking… she wouldn't really have been our daughter."

Leia nodded, "I was a bit of a wild child, and the Aunties and I didn't exactly see eye to eye," Bail had many sisters who took the way one looked like a statement of their character while Breha had been an only child, "but I never resented my responsibilities to Alderaan, to our people, Papa. I have always been proud and honoured to be your daughter."

Papa raised an amused brow at her, "Ah my sisters, I imagine you might have resented them some if the fire in your eyes is anything to go by."

Papa had always said that about her, that she had fire in her heart, fire that shone her eyes and was a warning to anyone foolish enough to cross her.

"You're Anakin's biological daughter, aren't you?"

Leia jumped, whirling, blaster pointed at a smiling face.

Nonplussed, a young Obi-Wan Kenobi merely pushed the barrel away from his face. "Well, hello there."

She lowered her weapon, a bit embarrassed.

"Anakin's daughter?" Bail repeated, looking at her closer, "Oh, I see it, you're as beautiful as your mother."

Leia didn't have any ill-will toward Padme Amidala but after just seeing Vader for the third time that night, she couldn't help saying, "Breha will always be my Mama." She looked at the Jedi she had once sought help from, who had brought her Luke instead. An action that cost him his life but what she would always be eternally grateful for. "How did you know I was biologically a Skywalker?"

Obi-Wan smirked at her, "I suppose we never met in your future?"

"No," she said, lowering the blaster, "Not in person."

"That's a shame," Bail said, "Obi-Wan has become a rather dear friend to me over the years."

She nodded, "I know, and trust me, I asked for many repeats of the Adventures of the Great General Obi-Wan Kenobi." She smirked in turn at the bearded Jedi, "You were quite the legend."

The amusement dimmed some from the Jedi's blue eyes, "Ah, Anakin and I didn't survive the war then?"

"No, you both survived." Mostly.

Bail frowned, "Then why did Breha and I adopt you?"

"Obi-Wan was taking care of my twin brother on Tatooine while I was hidden with the Organas."

"Hidden from whom?" Bail asked.

She knew her smile was bitter, "The Emperor and his dog, Darth Vader."

And as if speaking his name aloud could break the chain of endless dreams, she woke on Endor with the fleeting memory of her Papa reaching out to her.

As if even in a dream he would try to protect her.

Bail Organa woke with a start, his wife Breha reaching out to him.

"Bail, what's wrong?" she asked, voice still sleepy.

"Nothing," he lied, even as a headache pressed between his brows the details of his dream painfully clear.

A daughter! They had adopted a daughter!

Bail had been pushing Breha to adopt, or even get a surrogate after the nightmare of her first miscarriage. But Breha had seen her inability to carry a child to term as a personal failing, as if she just willed it hard enough, as if she could just be strong enough then they could conceive a child. But Breha was the strongest woman Bail knew, her stature misleading. It wasn't her fault, it was just the way things were.

And Leia… oh, Bail could be proud of a daughter like her. A part of him already loved her.

"Bail?"

He turned away from his wife, burying his face in a pillow because he knew starting this debate now would lead to a row.

Leia had said she had a brother? Maybe this was a dream that was meant to tell them to adopt both a girl and a boy.

Twins, after all, shouldn't be separated.

Had he had a vision? A true vision like the Jedi have?

Obi-Wan Kenobi had been there. What if it was a real vision? Bail wasn't a Force sensitive, but maybe if Obi-Wan had been there, and Leia's birth father was Anakin Skywalker then she was probably a Force sensitive which meant-

That if Anakin and Padme did theoretically have children then in order for either to willingly give them up for adoption they would have to be dead or worse.

Bail slipped out of bed, but he was halted by Breha catching him with a delicate hand.

"Bail," she said, all signs of sleep gone from her voice, "what is wrong?"

He squeezed her hand, "Just nightmares."

Or dreams disguised as nightmares. His dearest wish to raise a daughter with his wife at the cost of losing his dearest friends.

Breha was annoyed with both her husband and her friend.

It wasn't often she got the opportunity to travel to Coruscant and Bail had been quiet all morning.

And now Padme, who had just told them, them being Breha, Bail, and Duchess Satine that she and Sabe were dating, was now drifting mid-meal. Her gaze taking on that sorrowful look.

Breha was returning to Alderaan in the morning and she knew her opportunities to get Padme to talk would be limited. And she was done with people keeping their pain to themselves. So she set down her utensils, Breha asked, "Padme, what is wrong?"

Padme startled and answered, "Nothing, my apologies, my thoughts got away from me."

Sabe gave her lover a worried look, clearly, something was wrong and Sabe didn't know what it was either.

Breha knew that she was small, with black hair, nut-brown skin, and a round face, she wasn't impressive physically. Not like her husband who garnered attention and authority wherever he went, but she was still a queen of a prosperous planet.

"Padme Nabarrie Amidala, do not lie to me."

Padme pulled her masks up, but Breha held out a finger.

"Think carefully, Young Queen," Breha said, using the familiar nickname. She had grown so close with Padme since she had become the Senator of Naboo and friends with Bail. They had connected over being queens, of being young politicians. And despite their schedules and the age difference between them, they had become close enough for Breha to consider Padme her best friend.

But that had changed the start of the war, Padme had, understandably become busier, but also more distant, closed off in a way that made her worry and Breha was done with. "I will lose respect for you if you continue to question my intelligence." Continue to push everyone who loves you away when you are obviously hurting. "We are your friends. You can tell us what's wrong."

Satine shook her head, "What is wrong? The galaxy is in chaos, that's what is wrong, Breha."

Bail nodded, "The Rebellion is an unknown fraction, however, I think they have merit."

Sabe frowned at him, "We don't even know what the Rebellion stands for. So far all they've proven is that they are deserters."

Satine scowled at her, "No, they aren't. They are fighting for freedom and standing up against corruption. Tensions have been rising on Mandalore and I've been in discussions with my officials about joining the Rebellion."

"Really?" Bail asked, "You would be the first planet to do so, and that would be quite the statement."

"Mandalore has been continuously targeted throughout this war, and though I don't support the civil war, it is fast approaching the point of active defence measures needing to be taken. The ion cannon," she dipped her head toward Padme, "was very popular among almost all fractions on Mandalore."

"But how do you know that the Rebel Alliance is any better than the Republic or Separatists?" Sabe asked.

"Because Obi-Wan Kenobi is leading them," Satine answered flatly.

Breha was frowning at Padme whose gaze had gone distant again, "Padme?"

Her focus snapped back, nodding her head, she said, "I've been thinking about it too but… Chancellor Palpatine still has far too much support on Naboo even if dissatisfaction grows daily. But truthfully, I don't understand why the war is even feasible now, since Dooku lost his armour and General Grievous was killed. I feel the war should be over."

Breha felt shock as she said those words so casually, "Wait, what?"

Padme frowned at her, "I know it hasn't been hitting the headlines, but reports from Naboo confirm it."

"Confirm what?" Bail asked, "I know the Separatists took a hit with the IBC and Trade Federation going under but that shouldn't have destroyed their armies."

"The droid armies turned on themselves," Padme said, she frowned, "You didn't hear this?"

Breha was in shock, "No, we only get the Core and inner rims news."

Sabe muttered, "Honestly, how much they are able to filter is frightening," as she pulled up her tablet from her bag, and passed over the feed.

Breha was squished between her husband and Satine as they leaned in together to look at the reels, and image after image of battlefields of broken droids.

"The Republic won the war?" Satine asked.

"Not officially," Bail said, "The Jedi pulled back their forces, the war is at a standstill until the Jedi and-or the Republic forces the issue."

Breha narrowed her eyes on Padme, "But this isn't why you're upset, dear."

She was a few decades older than the young senator and she was not one to leave her friends in pain, and she was going to corner her husband tonight about his odd behaviour this morning.

"Really, Breha, I don't want to-"

Sabe crossed her arms, "She's right, Padme, enough secrets, these are our friends."

"I can't," Padme said stubbornly.

"But you can," Sabe said, "Anakin left the Order, there's nothing left to protect. Is this about why didn't you want to go out today?"

"This is about Anakin?" Bail asked with a tad too much interest for Breha's liking.

"What by the stars and moons is going on?" Breha asked.

Padme sighed, "Today would have been my third anniversary."

Breha was heart, "You married Sabe without telling us."

Sabe grinned, "No, she married a Jedi Padawan without telling us."

Satine gaped at her, "You married Obi-Wan's Padawan behind his back?"

Breha sighed, "Oh, Padme, that is so terribly you. I understand why, but did you really know what you were signing up for? A marriage is not something to be hidden away."

Padme was flushed, and she looked down at her hands, "I loved him."

"And the advantage must have seemed appealing," Breha said knowingly. "But all the secrets and lies must have piled up. Marriages cannot survive that." She sent her husband a small glare, but he was focused on Padme.

Breha knew that expression, he was waiting to ask a question.

Padme looked as if she might have cried, "Our marriage might have survived, but after his head injury… he didn't know who I was."

Breha winced, a secret marriage must have been a terrible burden, having that secret be unknown to even the person you were supposed to be married to must have been a special type of torture.

Sabe wrinkled her nose, "He definitely lost his sanity with the head injury."

Satine bowed her head, "I haven't spoken with Obi-Wan since that happened, but I haven't gotten the impression that Anakin lost his sanity, only his memories."

Bail tapped the table with a finger thoughtfully, "His actions on Mon Cala were certainly interesting, and though a formal report of Umbara has yet to be released to the Senate, he was victorious there too. I don't think that qualifies him for insanity if the Jedi were trusting him to lead troops."

"And Obi-Wan can't think he's mad if he, Ahsoka, and the 7th Sky Corps followed him into exile," Satine remarked.

"It's more complicated than that," Padme said.

"Explain it to us then, please," Breha demanded.

Padme and Sabe exchanged a look.

"What is it?" Satine asked, concern clear in her voice.

Padme looked to Sabe and the decoy gave one short nod before saying crisply, "Anakin Skywalker believes he is Luke Skywalker, Padme and Anakin's would-be future child who time travelled and trapped in his father's body."

Yeah, Breha hadn't known what to expect, but that hadn't made the list.

Her husband's response was somehow more worrying, "Luke, that's what you would have named the boy?"

Padme's hazel eyes focused on him, "You believe me?"

Bail nodded, "I had a vision last night. I met your daughter, Leia. She said she had a twin brother but she didn't say his name."

"I'm sorry," Sabe said, holding up her hands, "But you know this is insane right?"

But a light had returned to Padme's eyes, "Yes! Leia, that's what Luke called her, what I would have named her."

And then Breha realized what had been making her husband so closed lip this morning, "You had a Jedi vision?"

"Obi-Wan was there," he said, and he looked a little abashed.

Good, because you should have shared this with me, she thought.

But then she asked, "Why did you say it was a nightmare? What happened?"

"Because she wasn't Leia Skywalker or Leia Amidala, she was Leia Organa. Breha, we raised her, she was our daughter, and with every word she spoke she was an Alderaanian princess."

Breha felt her heart constrict, a daughter. And just as quickly, she realized why it was a nightmare. She looked at Padme, one of her dearest friends despite how few years they had known each other.

But Padme didn't look shocked, she merely nodded her head, "Luke told me that I died during childbirth." She smiled, "And of course, I would have made you and Bail the godparents."

Breha frowned, "But why wouldn't we have raised Luke too? Why was he Luke Skywalker and not Luke Organa?"

"Luke said that the Jedi didn't survive the war."

Satine gasped, "The Separatist won in his future?"

"No, the Sith won."

"The Separatist are being led by the Sith," Satine pointed out.

Padme looked thoughtful, "He didn't… the way he said it. He didn't seem to think the Separatists were the problem. He said that he and his sister were separated to keep them safe from the Sith."

"Keep them safe from the Emperor and his dog, Darth Vader," Bail said gravely.

"Who is Darth Vader?" Satine asked.

"Where did you hear that?" Sabe asked.

"Leia said that in my vision."

Sabe sighed, "Of course she did."

Breha was Sabe's side in this, it all seemed absurd. "So you and Anakin are divorced?"

Padme shifted uncomfortably, "Not officially but…"

Breha nodded, but practically, if the man thought he was Padme's son, it was over.

Satine held her hand to her heart, "Obi-Wan dies in the war?"

"No," Bail said, "Leia said both Anakin and Obi-Wan survived the war."

"What?" Padme asked, "But then why didn't Anakin raise the twins?"

"I don't know," Bail answered.

A part of Breha wanted to say this was all insane, and another part of her realized that she was ready to be a mother. She took the hand Bail had resting on his leg under the table.

His brown eyes met hers, and a moment passed between them. She still had reservations, but she wanted children, even if they had to adopt or have a surrogate.

And then the guards were shouting into the room, and Breha was reminded why she didn't like Coruscant.

Bail had had her arm and was half pulling half carrying her out of the room. Sabe, the trained bodyguard among them, was doing the same.

Satine was barking orders to her men.

And then there was a Mandalorian armoured warrior pointing a blaster at Breha and she got to see her life flash before her eyes.

Got to feel the regret of having no children to leave behind a legacy, to remember her love, to remember the love her husband as the father he was meant to have been if it wasn't for her own failings.

Satine shoved Breha aside and Bail caught her in his arms, taking the full brunt of the fall.

"Satine!" Breha screamed.

But the Mandalorian didn't shoot their Duchess, they kidnapped her.

Obi-Wan got the message when they were still on Kiros. Bail Organa contacted him with the news that rendered his heart from his chest.

Satine had been captured by Death Watch.

Obi-Wan didn't hesitate.

Not this time. He had been freed from his Code, his duty. His Padawans could handle themselves against slavers, but Satine had crippled herself.

He would not lose her when there was nothing stopping him from going to her side.

Satine found herself in her own throne room, the tall glass windows of filtered light, captured and organized to make what was wild be more beautiful, it was such a contrast with the chaos she could feel building around her.

As she took stock of her surroundings, finding her men and advisors cut down, the armoured masks of Death Watch stared back at her. She couldn't see their expressions but she could feel their excitement, their blood lust.

Her father had worn armour like that, and a part of her was angered to see these people, these terrorists disrespecting that memory. Yes, her father had been a warlord, but he had been an honourable man.

These extremists were nothing, power hungry thugs clinging to their supposed tradition so they could hoard power by spreading fear and chaos.

And yet they had beaten her. Everything she had fought so hard for, lay in tatters around her. She had come to understand that violence begets violence, so she had tried another way. Clearly that way had failed, clearly, she hadn't been what her people needed, and any hope she had that she had laid the groundwork that would pave a path for those to take up after her evaporated when her own sister took off her helmet to gaze down at her with cold green eyes.

Satine had wanted to give her people stability, sustainable peace. But how could Satine have been so arrogant, she had never known peace, fear had nipped at her heels her entire life. She couldn't share with her people what she had never trusted herself. Peace and fear could not thrive together.

Those who fight for peace, Obi-Wan had told her once, don't get the luxury of enjoying it. That's what the Jedi are really, we pursue peace, we honour it, we fight for it, but the moments we actually get to enjoy it are rare. It's why being a Jedi is such a hard path, why our culture celebrates death, because when we pass on from our bodies we rejoin the Force, and only then will we know true peace.

She tried to hold onto those words, because she knew her death was coming. On her knees on a marble floor she had long discussed the ethics of peace, she would meet her end.

Would the Force welcome her too? Could she join with it as well? Would she be able to wait on the other side for Obi-Wan or would her spirit always be with him?

Her own failure weighed heavy on her now, but she fought herself to let it go. In death she could be free, in death she could know peace, know an existence without fear such as she never had in life.

But even as Bo walked toward her, Satine was deftly unlocking the bounds on her wrists. She would meet death when it greeted her, but she would not die on her knees.

She was too much her father's daughter for that.

Satine tilted her chin up, meeting her sister's hateful gaze with one of defiance, "Hello, Bo, I see your choice in friends still leaves something to be desired."

Bo scowled, "You brought this on yourself, Satine. Father would be ashamed of you."

That hurt, because Satine knew her father would have fought tooth and nail if she had asked him to lay down his weapons. But Satine was older than her sister, and she remembered the softer side of their father, of the man who desired nothing more than to stay home with his wife and children.

Their father would be ashamed of them both.

"Perhaps," Satine allowed, "but father would have never killed an unarmed foe."

Pre Vizsla stepped forward, his helmet off, probably to show off his gelled hair. "But that's the problem with you, isn't it?" he said with a sneer, "Even if we gave you a weapon, you wouldn't fight us, not truly. Even dying you would do with dishonour to our people."

Satine felt her own gaze go cold, "Death is Life, and I shall die as I have lived, I shall die believing that there is more to being a Mandolarian than perpetual civil war."

Vizsla backhanded her. Then knelt to grab her by the hair, her headpiece long since fallen, "You are the traitor here, Kryze."

Satine tasted blood, and she spat it back at him.

She got no small amount of pleasure seeing that pretty boy who probably believed himself to be irresistible, rub blood across his face.

He snarled at her, "Your whole line is a disgrace, a failure. The Vizsla Clan will lead Mandalore-"

"Back into mayhem," she finished for him. "I may not be what everyone on Mandolare wants me to be but I know you are a man without honour. And without honour, you can never be Mandalore." She looked at her little sister, "Really, Bo, I'm disappointed, you let this creature give you orders?"

Bo opened her mouth to speak but a shout interrupted.

"Auntie!"

Satine tried to stand, only to be met with a shock of electricity. It hurt, and she found herself on the ground a moment later, not remembering if she had screamed or blacked out. Skin tingling with pinpricks, she called, "Korkie!"

Tears streamed down his face. "They killed them!" he cried, "They killed my-"

One of the thugs tased him, and a few more laughed as her nephew shook against the ground.

"He's a child!" Satine screamed, "Kill me but let him go!"

Vizsla laughed, "No, the Kryze family dies this day."

Panic rose in Satine's chest, and she looked to Bo who was turning to frown at her chosen leader.

He greeted her with the ignited hum of a lightsaber.

She heard her sister's intake of breath and Satine bellowed, "Bo-Katan!"

She fell back and Satine managed to slip her hand free of a cuff in time to catch her. Her sister's gaze wandered, tracing the ceiling with confusion before her inner resilience entered her expression like Mandalorian steel as she realized she was dying.

"We weren't always enemies, Bo, and I never stopped loving you."

Bo looked up at her, her green gaze unforgiving, hate and malice eating away the girl Satine remembered.

"I'm not sorry," Bo-Katan breathed, "Mandalore will survive even you. It always doe-s…"

Satine could almost feel her sister's life depart, horror and grief drowning her.

In death there is peace, in truth, there is no death, only the Force.

"And just as you would have our culture die," Vizsla said, "our very honour as a people die, your sister is dead because you did nothing."

Satine didn't look at Vizsla, she looked at her nephew, her nephew who now had no one but her and would die this day because of her choices. His blue eyes were filled with pain and sorrow.

Pre Vizsla raised the Darksaber, "Let all of Mandalore bear witness to your weakness, to the Duchess who would no more defend herself than her people."

Something in Satine broke then, and she remembered who she was, remembered the girl she had been who had grown up fighting and training beside her sister and brother. The girl who had taken strength from the Mandalorian Code and Actions. The girl who believed that when she grew up she would be without fear: Remember Sat, always, defend yourself and your family.

Vizsla brought the saber down toward her, and she tackled him. She threw all her weight at him, as she fought him for the saber. He was stronger than her but he had to be careful of both her and not stab himself.

But Satine was past being careful. Her legs and skirts tangled in his armed legs, he lost his balance, bringing them crashing to the stone floor.

Obi-Wan didn't have a lot of luck when it came to the people he loved. And as he sprinted through the halls of Mandalore, dread filled his heart.

He was going to be too late. But there was still hope. Mandalore sat at the crossroads of the hyperlanes and they had made good time.

But he didn't think it would be enough. After all, it had been a matter of seconds that had lost him Qui-Gon.

With Ahsoka, Waxer, Appo, Fives, Echo, and twenty others at his back, he was decently sure he had brought enough fire power, he had left Cody in charge of the Rebellion. Obi-Wan was grateful that he was no longer a part of the Order, because the Republic wouldn't have been able to send as many to a neutral territory. There hadn't been any guards at the door to halt them taking their weapons.

His heart stopped as they entered the throne room, all weapons turned to them, except for the one Mandalorian who wore no helmet, standing over the love of his life with a lightsaber raised to cut her down.

The next moments seemed to pass in a blink of an eye yet seemed to transpire in a lifetime.

The blonde Mandalorian raised his gaze to the force that had just barged down the doors even as the black lightsaber laced with white light lowered, and Satine launched herself at her attacker.

Obi-Wan didn't hesitate, using the Force to accelerate his speed to go to them. The Mandalorian rolled away from him, kicking out at Satine who didn't let go of the saber as she grunted from the pain of the impact.

Holding onto the hilt of someone's lightsaber was by no means an advisable tactic, but it gave Obi-Wan the time he needed to press the attack, but it was Satine managing to twist the blade enough at Pre Vizsla that decided the fight.

The Darksaber touched his cheek, and Vizsla reeled back a char line on the side of his face. Obi-Wan took that opportunity to decapitate him before Vizsla could do little else.

With the Darksaber flashing in Satine's hand as she snatched it from the deadman's grip, they went back to back.

"Kill the Duchess!" someone roared.

Obi-Wan found himself deflecting rapid fire.

But Satine?

Satine, Queen of Peace, Duchess of Pacifism, and proclaimer of non-violence launched herself at the nearest Death Watch agent with a fury.

With her hair wild, her blue eyes blazing, a lightsaber gripped in her hands, she was the most beautiful thing Obi-Wan had ever seen.

Also the most terrifying. He felt like he was fighting beside Anakin again as he hurried to keep up with her. Her lack of training made her almost more of a liability than an asset. But the numbers were on their side, and more importantly, he was where he belonged at hers.

Overall, it was a strange fight. The clones were Mandalorians by way of Jango Fett, and had been trained as not warriors but soldiers. Death Watch was a lot more blood thirsty, more wild, but the clones worked better as units.

Death Watch had better weapons, better armour, but the clones had two pissed off Jedi. The one civilian picked up a blaster from a fallen Death Watch and joined the fight.

Ahsoka killed the two Mandalorians who had attempted to gang up on Fives.

And then, it was over.

Obi-Wan disengaged his lightsaber and Satine did the same.

He didn't know what to say, but he was pretty sure he had a crack about her display of violence, but words abandoned him as she put a hand to his neck and pulled him in for a kiss.

He wrapped his arm around her and knew that he never wanted to let her go. And with a sense of joy and relief, he realized that he never had to.

When she pulled back, she expected her Obi-Wan to be bashful. To pull back and brush her off.

But then she remembered that he had left the Jedi Order.

She kissed him again, and he kissed her back.

Cough.

Satine pulled back, to find both Obi-Wan's latest Padawan and her nephew smiling at them, along with over two dozen clone soldiers.

Ahsoka had her hands on her hips, "So are you coming with us? Or…"

That was when Satine finally noticed the droids that were likely recording this and projecting for all of her people, if not the entire galaxy to see.

To see her, the proclaimer of peace and nonviolence on Mandalore, fight alongside rebel clone troopers with two fallen Jedi Knights against rogue Mandalorian warriors with the only lightsaber in history that ever been made by a Jedi Mandalorian.

And if that wasn't a bundle of contradictions she didn't know what was, and she also knew that there was no going back.

Satine would wage war against the entirety of the galaxy before she allowed another civil war or a terrorist faction to rip her society apart at the seams. Besides, there was no going back after this. Once her actions were known by all, no one would listen to her about the advantageousness of nonviolence and deweaponizing.

Pacifism had failed her, failed her people, it was not the Way.

So she stepped toward the droids, away from Obi-Wan and raised her Darksaber. reigniting it, she said to her people, to the galaxy, "We are Mandalorians and we will always defend our own. And we are not a race but a creed. To be a Mandalorian means to be one of honour, to always put our children, our future before personal vendettas. As Duchess of Mandalore I kept our planet independent from the flagrant corruption of the Republic, kept us free of a rising Sith Empire that would use up our resources and give us only bondage in return, but today I pronounce us a part of the Rebel Alliance.

"And we will show the galaxy why Mandalore is home to the galaxy's finest warriors, why even the Jedi cannot dismiss us. Because we are strong, we are honourable, we are loyal, and we do not bow to those who tell us stability is possible only under tyranny.

"This is the Way."

AN: I totally didn't plan this chapter, but Satine and Death Watch that the week of chaos was the time to strike.