"You were right Satine, I already don't like this idea." Grumbled Obi-Wan, causing Satine to roll their eyes as they crouched behind a half collapsed building, one of the few found outside the domed city. It stank profoundly and Obi-Wan half suspected that, before the wars. it had proudly stood as an outhouse. They were carefully crouched amongst the collapsed debris, their hands and knees sinking into the soft sands as they eyed their real destination. Another building a few meters away, its pale coloured stone barely visible against the sands, an outcrop provided a flimsy bit of protection over the pair of guards that blocked their way into Keldabe.
"The sewers are the only way into the city that won't get a squadron of rebels on us in an instant." Explained Satine, eyeing the pair of guards. Each donned a dented suit of Mandalorian armour, painted in a collection of dark browns, representing that they came from the same clan, their blasters strapped on their sides, their faces obscured as they vigilantly stood at their post.
"But the sewers…" Sighed Obi-Wan, if this outhouse was already causing him to gag, he didn't even want to imagine how horrible the sewers would be. "There's no chance that the pair are two of yours, is there?"
"Not a chance," Sighed Satine, as one shifted, revealing a graffiti skull on his shoulder, that was no clan emblem but a sign of the rebels.
"Then let's get this over with." Obi-Wan groaned. Satine was about to question how they were going to get past the guards, her blaster had been fully charged and set on stun but she wasn't particularly sure it would be very useful against Mandalorian armour.
"Leave it to me." Obi-Wan confidently informed the duchess, raising his hand in the guards' direction, his brow creasing in concentration. Satine held her breath, desperately wanting to know what the Padawan had planned but didn't want to interrupt him as he moulded the Force. He flicked his wrist and a yelp of surprise from one of the guards redirected Satine's attention to them, who were now sprawled on the ground, one upon the other.
"What did you do?" Gasped Satine as Obi-Wan lowered his hand, looking pleased at his handy work.
"Just gave them a good rattling inside their helmets, they'll be sleeping it off for a few hours."
"Brilliant!" Jumped Satine, leaning in and kissing the Padawan before marching towards the previously guarded doors, her feet sinking, up to her ankles, in the sand. Obi-Wan took a moment to regain his concentration, such acts of affection still flustered him at times, before following the woman as she looked down at the two guards.
"How do you feel about armour?" Satine asked, kneeling down and already unclasping one of the helmets.
"Restricting." Obi-Wan admitted as he walked up to her, and, with little struggle, she tossed the helmet towards him.
"Well better suit up, the rebels won't shoot us if they think we are one of them."
Obi-Wan nodded his head, unable to argue with the duchess's reasoning. A few minutes later, Obi-Wan needing a lot more help than he would have willingly admitted, he had put on all the little pieces of armour however they did not fit at all comfortably over his clothing.
"How does this even fit me?" He mumbled, eyeing the man he'd acquired his suit from who seemed to be to a good deal taller than him.
"Let us not question the physics of the universe." Satine admitted, as she tightened a strap along her arm brace, her helmet held under her arm like an expert. If it was impressive how Obi-Wan fit in his armour, Satine's was the real magic considering just how much wider and taller the other man had been.
Obi-Wan gave a low whistle, he wouldn't have usually made such an observation but he had to admit Satine looked rather intimidating in the armour and, although she was a hard core pacifist, she currently looked like she could whoop anyone who got in her way. Satine rolled her eyes at the man, nudging him playfully before returning her attention to the two unconscious guards. They'd made sure they were safely under the shelter just in case the rains began. The armour would have most likely protected them but now they were as vulnerable as anyone else.
Satine placed her helmet over her head, scrunching her nose in disgust at the stanch that lingered within it, its previous occupant needed to clean it desperately. Obi-Wan did the same before igniting his lightsaber and slicing through the door's control panel, causing it to slide open to reveal a dimly lit passage that slowly declined down.
"Ladies first." Obi-Wan said, clipping his lightsaber to his side, bowing flamboyantly.
"But gentleman before." Satine teased, her smile audible in her voice.
Thankfully, the sewage system of the Mandalorian domed cities weren't as disorganised as Obi-Wan had expected. He'd, unfortunately, been in the sewage systems on Coruscant on one of his master's more obscure plans, and he had contemplated burning his tunic after that, when he realised no amount of detergent could get the smell out. The pair walked cautiously along the passage that ran beside the slow moving sludge of human excrement and garbage, their unfamiliar armour clanking with each move they made, which echoed loudly in the silence.
One would think that with a war raging above, they'd hear something in the putrid underbelly of Keldabe but the silence was unnerving. The dim light gave the sewers an eerie feel however just as in the old days, the unwanted and discarded made their way into the darkness- dented pieces of armour, glasses whose frame had been bent out of recognition. A small stuffed toy animal bobbed past them at one point, its shiny little eyes catching Satine's attention. A single arm had been ripped off, its soft white stuffing had been stained black by the river's composites. It floated away in a slow, deliberate manner, alongside the other remnants of old lives, a wake to the owners they would never return to.
Such morbid thoughts filled Satine's mind as she felt captivated by the toy's slow moving journey but she felt a hand, soft and gentle on her shoulder, guiding her thoughts away from the darkness and back to the present. Obi-Wan didn't say anything, he did not need to. They had to focus on the path ahead, on who they could help and not those they could not. Satine reached out to his hand that was still on her shoulder, holding it for a moment as she said a silent prayer for the pieces of lives this river of discard was slowly taking away.
They continued walking in silence, allowing the path to lead them, searching for a ladder that would lead them to the city above. Satine was certain there should be a number, remembering the manholes that lined the streets, it was just a matter of stumbling upon one.
"Obi-Wan…" Satine whispered, "You've been in sewers before, right?"
"Unfortunately." The Padawan answered grudgingly, recalling unpleasant memories.
"Should they be this empty?" The dutchess questioned, causing the man to straighten out in realisation that she was right. Any normal city had some homeless or shady citizen residing within its underbelly and, with a war raging above, some poor souls would have wandered down here in search of shelter. It was impossible to be this desolate…
"That's because they learnt that if anyone comes down here, they never go back up." A voice growled from the darkness. Too late, Obi-Wan sensed their presence, the shadows shifting as a number of individuals clad in dark armour propelled from above, where they had been lying hidden amongst the pipes. Six individuals encircled the pair, blocking any means of escape, unless they wished to swim through the sewage in armour.
"It seems Sokka Tat hasn't learnt that lesson yet, if he insists on sending his goons this way." The same voice of before whispered into Satine's ears, as she felt the nozzle of a blaster press against the small, unprotected area between her helmet and back plate.
Obi-Wan cursed under his breath as his hand fell on his lightsaber hilt, narrowly dodging as a blaster shot was aimed at his moving hand. How could he have been so oblivious to their presence? But, even now, there was something oddly familiar about the woman that had captured Satine. Unbeknownst to Obi-Wan, Satine had had the same feeling of familiarity. This low, raw voice tugged at her memory like it had been edited ever so slightly so as her identity eluded her.
"Why don't we send him two more bodies? That should be a clear message." The woman growled playing with the trigger of her gun.
"Obi-Wan!" Satine yelled, her suddenly loud voice surprising her captor as she ducked, unclasping her baster and firing at the guard who had initially shot at Obi-Wan. The man gasped in surprise, his companions blasting in response but the Padawan was faster. In one fluid motion he extended his hand, using the Force to push the woman behind Satine into the sewage while he ignited his lightsaber and deflected the blasts that had been sent his way. Satine sent a few shots towards the assailants, although she missed most of her targets, their opponents had not not anticipated that and had jumped out of the way in an attempt to dodge her blaster shots. The pair stood, back to back, Satine had her blaster, still set on stun, held in both her hands, pointed at the armoured men and women that surrounded them. Obi-Wan, his lightsaber held before him, was ready to deflect the next attacks as he watched their movements, wary.
"Stop!" An overpowering voice echoed through the tunnel, capturing not only the Mandalorians attention but also Obi-Wan's within the Force. He assumed the person had concealed his presence, that was what must have confounded Obi-Wan, now there was no doubt who it was. He emerged from the darkness, his dark cloak shifting as he walked, his face heavily shadowed by the unflattering lighting, however there was no doubt to the identity of the man. His blue eyes looked at Obi-Wan with the same amused look they had often had when his Padawan would have made a particularly entertaining comment.
"Master Qui-Gon?" Obi-Wan gasped, not lowering his lightsaber, unable to believe his eyes. After so many months, could it be he had finally found his master?
The man gave Obi-Wan a gentle smile, his relief almost palpable in the Force. "It's nice to see you have survived this long, my stubborn Padawan."
Satine eyes widened within her helmet, recognising the man that walked towards them… could that mean….
"Bo-Katan!" She practically shrieked, dropping her blaster and running toward the edge of the passage, to where Obi-Wan, possibly, had just tossed her sister into the sewage. With shaking hands she unclasped her helmet and tossed it to the side. Kneeling over the edge, she saw the armoured woman coughing as she struggled to stay afloat under the weight of the metal, her arms flailing.
"Bo-Katan!" Satine yelled, catching the drowning woman's attention, kneeling over the edge and extending her hand towards her.
"Satine?!" The woman choked, almost sinking under the surface in surprise. But the duchess reached out, grasping her sister's hands and, with a struggle she pulled her towards the platform and, with a heave, to dry safety. The woman coughed out the disgusting liquid as she struggled with the clasps of her helmet, pulling it off and forcing herself to look at her rescuer.
"Satine?!" The woman gasped, still coughing out sewer water, her green eyes wide as she recognised the woman she'd almost shot with a blaster.
"It's you!" Satine almost cried, pulling her sister towards her, awkwardly embracing her in the armour, ignoring the sewage stench that was slowly clasping itself to her as well.
"I can't believe this!" Bo-katan gasped, still too stunned from almost drowning to understand that this woman was really her sister.
"I found you!" Satine half laughed, half cried. "We found you."
And at that moment her eyes met with Obi-Wan's pale ones as his master walked towards his Padawan, the younger man's disbelief obvious.
By sheer chance alone, they had finally found them.
But an unwelcome thought edged itself into her mind, poisoning the moment.
What would that mean for them?
Another chapter done and posted! Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to drop a comment, the next one will be out Friday. See you then!