So I wasn't planning on writing this at first, but then the Siege of Mandalore arc had to bring up Satine and open up that wound again. Of course, it also doesn't help that I'm a total sucker for Obitine, so maybe I was just looking for an excuse to write this.
First time I tried my hand at writing Star Wars, and I'll say right now that I had a blast doing so, so much fun writing these characters and their nuances.
Quick formal disclaimer that I don't own the SW franchise and never will, and that I included some lines from both Shades of Reason and The Lawless. Hope you guys enjoy it :)
Can confirm I crossposted this fic to AO3 in case you see it there as well. Minor edits may be made to this story over time (i.e grammar mistakes previously not seen, slight tweaks in dialogue to make it flow better) but the overall plot will remain the same of course.
Part I: Acceptance
Satine knew her time was short when Death Watch's attack on Sundari commenced. It was sickening really, seeing Vizsla play the role of hero when his principles made him a disgrace to the tradition he revered. Ordering her royal aides to surrender if the palace came under attack, lest there be even more blood on her hands, she moved to her chambers to set up one final holo message before things went to hell.
She opted to send her outgoing message directly to the Jedi Council for simplicity's sake. As much as she disagreed with their methods, she had to let them and the Republic know that Mandalore was now in hostile hands. Vizsla would no doubt try to make the takeover as seamless as possible, probably to the point of erasing it from history altogether if he got his way. Her insistence on neutrality during the war would likely come back to haunt her here, but really there was only one man who she hoped the message would resonate with.
As she heard the explosions draw near, she withdrew back to the throne room, face arranged into a steely resolve. Her surrender was accepted without issue as she relinquished herself into their custody; there was nothing else she could do.
I need you Obi-Wan.
Obi-Wan's heart raced upon hearing Satine's message, her plea, which the Council had told him in everything but word to ignore until the Senate could review the case. Her words still echoed through his mind even after he had sufficient time to process them.
"This is a message for the Jedi Council, and for Obi-Wan Kenobi. The city of Sundari and Mandalore as a whole will soon fall under the control of the extremists known as Death Watch. Pre Vizsla is leading the attack, there is some resistance, but it won't last long. I am requesting aid if possible," she paused briefly before giving her final request, the one that stuck with him the most. "Obi-Wan, I need your help."
The message ended there, a final background explosion serving as a chiller to Obi-Wan. The desperation in her voice gave him chills when mixed in with the underlying sense of resignation she spoke with. Like she expected the Council to not permit intervention.
As he made his way over to the hanger of the Temple out of instinct, he hesitated for the briefest of moments. He knew what he had to do but wasn't sure if he'd succeed. But with the alternative being Satine's imprisonment by a terrorist group that long wanted her removed from her position, his resolve to attempt the implausible rescue increased, consequences be fripping damned.
Scouting out the area, there were a few clones overlooking the gunships and transports the Jedi used for missions, but the Twilight was not the center of anyone's attention. He hoped Anakin would be okay with him taking it.
Slipping his way inside, Obi-Wan cursed inwardly as he ran a quick diagnostic. The Twilight's engines—and most notably the hyperdrive—weren't running up to speed. Of course they weren't. While rushing to Satine's side was reckless, nearly bordering on the edge of suicidal, even he had enough sense to know that the last thing he needed was for his already unlikely escape plan to be devastated because of an untimely malfunction when attempting an escape jump. Not to forget the Twilight's shoddy shielding had already given him reason to hesitate prior.
Anakin would never let me live this down. The thought came to him out of the blue, a brief reprieve from his task ahead. Attachment had always been a bit of slippery slope for him, with Qui-Gon and Anakin being his surrogate father and son respectively, though those were familial bonds. His feelings for Satine were another challenge entirely. He never did stop loving her, and while the Council was likely aware to some degree of his feelings, perhaps even glad of them given how he could act as a go between with the Republic and Mandalore, that would all change if he acted on them now. Would he risk that?
He already knew the answer deep in his heart, what it would always be.
Shaking his head then, Obi-Wan allowed himself to assess the situation. Finding a mechanic for repairs would take far too long, that was out of the question. Maybe he could "borrow" a Jedi transport, but no, he could be stopped before even leaving the planet if the guards in the hanger were attentive enough to relay a message to a watchtower. Plus, it would make it far too easy for the Council to order him back, and though his resolve was absolute for the moment, Master Windu's scrutiny alone could make the strongest willed of men falter.
The thought of just taking the Twilight, faulty shields and unstable hyperdrive be damned, was a tempting one, but entering hostile Mandalorian airspace without sufficient protection was a death wish in it of itself. No, he'd have to find another way and quickly.
In the meantime, he could only hope against hope that Pre Vizsla, despite his ambition and arrogance as self-proclaimed Mand'alor, had the restraint to not execute Satine for the time being.
Though it had taken much longer than he would've liked, after two thousand credits of his Jedi funds and one speeder exchanged hands, Obi-Wan was in possession of a slightly worn-down freighter, though most importantly, equipped with a fully functioning hyperdrive and shields alike. While he did feel bad about having to mind trick the owner of the ship, his persistence on further payment upon return and in Correlian credits of all things was something he was not in the correct state of mind to negotiate. People were impossible to fathom at times.
By the time he had made his final arrangements and set his course, it was just past midday on Coruscant, only a few hours having passed since he received Satine's distress call.
The trip to the Mandalore system was pleasantly smooth for the most part, though this did nothing to soothe Obi-Wan himself, who remained as tense as a live wire. Thankfully, the ship dropped out of hyperspace without issue, which he took as a good omen. He might have to pay the owner of the ship extra after all out of thanks, assuming he made it off the planet alive with Satine.
Gauging his surroundings, he was met with far less resistance than he had anticipated when landing in Sundari, even if he was correct in his assumption that Death Watch's focus would be securing the city and not visitors. The lone Mandalorian who asked him for clearance fortunately didn't have the sharpest of instincts. One heavy sleep suggestion knocked him out clean once he got lured into the ship, Obi-Wan dressing quickly in the somewhat ill fitting armor.
The guards in the prison block below the city were in even worse condition though, knocked out from what looked to be a struggle. Had someone already beat him to Satine?
But no, Obi-Wan picked out her presence through the Force quite easily in the mostly vacant area. Darting around the corner, he promptly located and unlocked her cell, causing the Duchess to glance up wearily.
"Come to do your master's bidding?" she asked.
"I do my own bidding," he told her calmly, lifting the helmet.
He heard her gasp of surprise, gratitude and thankfulness evident in the Force, but kept his focus on the task at hand. "We have to move quickly. The guards won't stay down for long."
Satine nodded in understanding, biting back whatever comment or query she had for the moment. After taking the lift back up to the surface, neither of them stopped to question the lack of security as they made their way back to a surprisingly intact ship. After stopping momentarily to toss the still unconscious Death Watch member outside, Obi-Wan quickly engaged the controls so that they could gain altitude as quickly as possible.
"Look out!" Satine cried out suddenly, prompting him to take note of a large squadron of Death Watch warriors that had emerged from their rearview. Fortunately, the ship already had gained considerable height, and it seemed they weren't being paid any mind.
Still, he found himself unable to extinguish the bad feeling he had about the situation.
"Like you said, only the strongest shall rule Mandalore."
Pre Vizsla bared his neck for Maul to mark the final blow, one that didn't come for a surprising amount of time. His sudden hesitance only made Bo-Katan warier.
Finally, a single word made it past the damned Zabrak's mouth. "Kenobi," he said, practically tasting each syllable on his tongue, Vizsla daring to peek an eye open then. Bo understood the word but was unsure of its context in the situation.
All at once, the calm and control Maul emulated throughout the duel was swept away. "No! Not yet!" he growled. Their current Mand'alor—not dead yet—took the opportunity to activate his flamethrower, a last-ditch effort.
Maul snarled, forcing Vizsla back to the floor with a swift knee to the head before crushing the gauntlet entirely with his foot. Without calculation, satisfaction, or tact in the act, the Sith then drove the Darksaber through Vizsla's chest, gutting him cleanly in the heart. His outburst rattled most of the warriors in the room, while also serving as the final confirmation Bo needed that she could never bow to the despicable man.
"I claim this sword and with it, my rightful place as leader of Death Watch!" Maul proclaimed, bile rising in Bo-Katan's throat upon the perverted statement. "KNEEL!"
"Never! No outsider will ever rule Mandalore!" she declared fiercely.
"If you will not join me, you will all die," was his plain reply, as if he was simply reading news from the Holonet.
"You're all traitors!" she retorted, blasters at the ready for both sides, the tension palpable.
That is, until Maul's deceptively charming voice sliced through it. "Unfortunately for you, history will not see it that way. Execute them!"
It was no use; Bo and those who stood with her would have to live to fight another day given how many hadn't even blinked an eye in turning their loyalty to Maul. Jetpacks ignited as explosives were simultaneously launched to forge a path out of the palace, while they also stopped occasionally to return blaster fire. The chase was short lived however, and she understood why, finally saw the big picture. Maul wasn't interested in them; he had already gotten what he wanted. Staged a coup within a coup and seized the power Death Watch had built under Vizsla for his own crime syndicate.
She wanted to blast something over the realization of how easily they'd all been manipulated but maintained her composure as the de facto leader of the now split Death Watch. Instead, she looked for escape routes out of the city, eventually leading those that remained with her to a secure port.
It was only then that she noticed the not so Mandalorian ship in the sky, already high in ascent. Upon a quick scan, it most certainly wasn't one of theirs. More so, it was the type of ship you'd find in a Republic core world; she could only wonder what it was doing out here. Recon? Had the Republic already caught wind of Death Watch's takeover?
An idea came to her, and it was only then she understood why Maul had hesitated back when he had Vizsla pinned, why they weren't being pursued heavily now.
"Kenobi," she muttered.
Turning her attention to the Mandalorians who followed her lead, she barked out orders and assignments. It was all she could do to maintain her sanity and some semblance of order. "Take as many ships off world as you can, we'll have to find a new covert. Someone contact our supporting clans, make sure they know what's happened here."
"What about you?" one of them inquired.
"I have to make one stop first," she said, a heavy resolve mounting in her eyes.
It was only when the jump to hyperspace was made that Obi-Wan felt they were truly out of the mynock's nest. After ensuring the ship's navigation was on track, he moved to the back of the ship where Satine sat, still as lovely as ever. The forlorn look on her face as she stared out the window into the endlessness of hyperspace was something else though. He wanted to rid her of the pain she felt, but also didn't want to push his boundaries.
"Obi-Wan," she said softly, as if unable to believe he was real, that he had actually came for her.
"I'm here, Satine," he reassured her, taking her hand in his, boundaries all but forgotten at the brokenness in her voice.
That seemed to cause something to break in her, her arms enclosing around him as she sobbed almost viciously into his shoulder. Obi-Wan did nothing to stop it, despite the voice in the back of his mind hissing about the code. He merely returned the embrace, allowing her to release the built-up anguish from having lost her planet to a terrorist group. Refusing to be one upped, Satine then proceeded to almost unconsciously wrap her legs around him as if he were a lifeline and she, lost at sea.
It was only a fleeting moment of consolation, but Obi-Wan was happy to give it to her. Eventually, she straightened up and released her hold on him, clearing her throat before she spoke. Obi-Wan couldn't help but feel disappointed it had ended so quickly.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"Coruscant. I'm afraid it may be the only place we can go," he told her grimly.
She nodded in reluctance, accepting the reality of the situation. "And do you think I'll be granted asylum even after all my anti-war talk?"
"Even if you had outwardly supported the war, it'd still be a slow process. The Senate is… infamous for being bureaucratic and micromanaging as of late. Bringing in a political refugee of your status was going to be a drawn-out decision no matter what."
"I figured as much," she said with a sigh. "Is there truly nowhere else we can go?"
"Maybe not," he confessed. "But I didn't exactly plan much aside from taking a ship and getting you off Mandalore."
"Hmm," she replied, considering his admission. "Suppose I get denied entry. What then?"
"In that case, I could take you to hide out with one of my… friends in well, lower places." Hondo immediately came to mind; while a shady character, he was a good ally to have in times like these. Plus, his aid in defeating Maul earned him points in Obi-Wan's book.
"I never took you for the type, Obi," said Satine almost teasingly before sobering up at the implications of what he said. "But what would you do?"
"My contact is fairly honorable aside from the underworld dealings and all, but I wouldn't dare to leave you in his charge for an extended period of time. I'll stay until your safety is ensured and Mandalore is relinquished from Death Watch's control and in proper hands. Preferably your hands, of course."
Satine raised an eyebrow at his not so subtle declaration of attachment and what sounded like defiance. It didn't take long for her to put two and two together afterwards. "You weren't supposed to come, were you?"
Obi-Wan tensed up at that. The gravity of everything he'd done, the orders he disobeyed, it all finally sank in then. It was a miracle he didn't stumble over his following explanation entirely. "It's… possible I went against the Council's orders of nonintervention and… rented this ship from a port on Coruscant using Jedi funds. And hid my comm that the Council could've used to order me back under my bed."
"Really?" she replied dryly, though he could tell she was fighting her amusement over the sheer absurdity of the situation. "And is that all?"
"And I may have… convinced the owner of this ship to lend it to me for a considerably lower price than he was demanding," he relented.
"Oh Obi, what would your Padawan Skywalker say about this?" she false chided, an all too pleased smirk on her face, especially considering that he was the one who had just rescued her.
"He's not my Padawan anymore," he countered. "Though for what it's worth, I'd say he'd be proud."
"And why would you think that, my dear jetii?" she replied coolly, drawing ever so slightly closer. Obi-Wan didn't have the heart to pull away, and truthfully had no intention of doing so anyway.
He did however have the alluring retort on the tip of his tongue, something to gently break the building tension between them. He'd tease his advances and leave it at that, even if a part of him yearned for more, that being the teenager he was when he had first fallen in love with her. Although…
Hadn't the day already been one of impulsiveness for him, hadn't he all but admitted to breaking several Republic directives just to save her? Holding back now would only serve to hurt Satine, assuming she didn't see past the facade instantly. And thus, the words tumbled out of his mouth, and he couldn't help the unfiltered vibrancy in the Force that accompanied them, nor the warm feeling that spread through his body.
"Because I did it for you."
For a moment, Obi-Wan felt as though the rest of the universe had ceased to exist with the magnitude behind his words. His heart was pounding as Satine looked to him with an almost unreadable expression but also a faint glimmer in her eyes. Somehow, she had drawn even closer to him in the midst of it all, to the point where he could see the creases in her undone, but still beautiful hair.
"Obi-Wan, I—"
A ring from his personal holo interrupted her then, causing them both to startle. Reluctantly, Obi-Wan pulled out the device that he had concealed in the robes, feeling a stir of anxiety rise in his chest then, knowing only Satine and Anakin knew his holo frequency. He was not in the right mindset to deal with an outburst from his former Padawan but knew that delaying would only make things worse. Exchanging a quick look then, Satine nodded in affirmation for him to answer the call.
The image of a stern, red haired Mandalorian then came into focus. Definitely not Anakin. The first thing he noticed was the fire in her eyes, it almost reminded him of…
"Hello, Duchess," she said coolly, as if she just knew she'd be with him.
"Sister," Satine's reply was equally brisk, icier than her usual politician voice. Obi-Wan's eyes widened as hers narrowed. So this was the sibling she never spoke of. "What do you want?"
"I called to confirm my suspicions and warn you of the situation," she informed them.
"Suspicions about what? And how did you obtain this frequency?" Obi-Wan interjected, his guard still up.
"That you would come to save her. And I spent years monitoring the Duchess's communications. When there's a line out, there's always a line back in," she explained. Straight and to the point.
"Assuming you aren't just calling to trace our location, why should we trust you, Bo?" Satine asked, her finger just waiting for a reason to shut down the holo right then.
"Because we now share a common enemy," the woman—Bo—said, eyes darkening.
"Really? I didn't think you'd turn on Vizsla that quickly," Satine remarked, unimpressed.
"Pre Vizsla is dead," her voice turned hard, emotionless. Clearly a fresh wound. "Through ritual combat for the title of Mand'alor. An outsider now sits on the throne."
"You mean the Zabrak?" Satine asked, though the look on her face all but confirmed she knew the answer to the question.
Obi-Wan's heart sank at the conclusion that had to be made, the only logical one. "You're talking about—"
"Maul," the Mandalorian all but sneered. He shuddered just at the mention of the name. "He was expecting you to come, hoping for it even, so he could take his revenge. But you came earlier than he anticipated."
"This still doesn't instill much confidence for me in you," Satine informed her, though her face turned another layer of white at the deviousness behind the Zabrak's plan.
"I knew it wouldn't," she replied somberly, as if anticipating such a response. "That's why I made one more act in good faith."
Bo disappeared then, replaced shortly after by a boy who Obi-Wan was quite familiar with after his recent trips to Mandalore. "Auntie Satine?"
"Korkie?" Satine replied, barely maintaining her composure after the whirlwind of emotions she had experienced over the past few minutes.
"I'm okay," he said reassuringly. "Auntie Bo got me off world before anyone realized you were missing. She's taking us to a safe place."
The question of where hung in the air, but Satine seemed incapable of saying the word. The image of her sister reappeared then, her determination to win their trust evident in the Force.
"Look, I went against you because I believed what I was doing was right for Mandalore. Maybe it wasn't, seeing how things turned out," she began, before reconsidering at the sight of Satine's pointed stare.
"Okay, it definitely wasn't. But I'm…" she sighed in frustration, looking unsure of how to voice her thoughts. "I'm trying to make amends now. So if you could meet with us at our new base, bury the hatchet and all that kark, that'd be great."
Satine looked over her sister, perhaps out of reflex, perhaps to check for hints of deceit or malice, then at her nephew, eyes calculating. Obi-Wan held his breath, awaiting her decision alongside the rest of the Kryze family.
"Okay," she finally said.
"Okay?" Bo repeated, looking confused by the simplicity of her response.
"Bo, you'll always be my sister no matter what. Even if we won't ever see eye to eye," Satine elaborated. "We'll go to your base, assuming no one will try to kill us there."
"I... okay then, good," she replied tentatively, before snapping out of her stupor. "I'll send you the coordinates in a bit. See you soon."
The call ended then, and with it, it looked as though a weight had been lifted from Satine. Obi-Wan allowed her to drift in her own thoughts for a while until she glanced at him directly, seeming unsure what to say.
"You two are more similar than you realize," he commented, figuring he ought to get the conversation flowing again after his untimely confession.
She looked thoughtful at that, wistfulness filling her face along with pain, pain which Obi-Wan could only imagine. "Perhaps. It's just unfortunate we've been fighting for different things our entire lives," she replied.
"Do you believe you can make peace with her now like she said?" he asked, making sure to tread carefully. The topic was clearly a sore spot for her.
"Perhaps one day, yes. The thing with us Kryzes is that we're all so stubborn amongst other things. Maybe we could eventually reach a point of understanding, but I can't forget the things she's done, how much she attempted to undermine me."
"Understandable." He left the subject alone at that. The sisters had a lot of baggage to sort through, and he decided it'd be best if he left most of it to them to personally figure out. "Shall I adjust our course for the coordinates she sent us, then?"
"Yes. I'd rather not risk the possibility of Republic intervention just yet. It'll give us a chance to regroup, as opposed to waiting for the Senate to come to a decision."
He moved to the pilot seat then to make the necessary changes for the new route to the base located on… Kalevala. Obi-Wan didn't know much about the sister planet of the Mandalore system, but figured it was as safe a place as any given their current predicament. And though a small part of him worried it was all a trap set by Death Watch, he ultimately decided to put his faith in Satine and her sister, trusting that the latter's intentions were true.
"You know, I'm starting to see where your former Padawan gets his reckless behavior from," she said, joining him at the copilot seat as he switched hyperlanes.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he said ever so casually, dodging the subject. Still, the validity behind the statement did not escape him, joke or not. He, Obi-Wan Kenobi, exemplary Jedi Master and the Negotiator himself, had defied the Republic and the Order he stood for in almost every imaginable way, and all for attachment. Oh, he could pretend it was the will of the Force, as Master Qui-Gon had always liked to put it whenever he took off on some unauthorized quest fueled by personal belief. In his current case, success was justification that he had done right, but every rational fiber in his body knew that it could have easily wound up being suicide.
And yet, despite it all screaming wrong, wrong, wrong, Obi-Wan felt… relieved. Without regret. It had worked, even though their fates had been reliant on others to an extent. But would he do it again? For anyone besides Satine? Anakin? He wasn't sure.
He shook away that train of thought, knowing it would only lead down a dark path. Instead, he turned his attention to the present, to Satine, who was safe and alive, drinking in her presence as if they hadn't just a been a little more intimate a few minutes ago.
Speaking of Satine, she had arched an eyebrow at his earlier half-baked reply, but ultimately said nothing of it. Perhaps she could sense the turmoil the thought brought up in him. Instead, she merely smiled gently at him in reassurance, a gesture that spoke a thousand words on its own.
Obi-Wan gave a small smile of his own in return, masking the uncertainty he felt regarding what was to come. Images of Master Windu's stern glare and Yoda's disappointed shake of the head as they reprimanded him were already flashing through his mind, with undoubtable ramifications coming with his recklessness. But considering he had already gone so far and defied the code in almost every imaginable way, he figured he may as well see it through to the end.
It was the least he could do for her.
Well, this was honestly the most difficult chapter to write. At first I wasn't planning on including Bo-Katan because frankly, she pissed me off when she mouthed off to Obi-Wan, but then I realized that despite the crap she's pulled, she's still a victim of circumstance like almost everyone else in TCW. Also, her never getting closure with Satine was tragic and understandable for the series, but it was too good of a premise for me to pass up here.
Updates will be every Monday to begin (or sooner if I somehow stay ahead of the curve), but may become slightly more infrequent as time goes on. I do have a general idea where I want this story to end, just not quite sure how to get there yet.
Let me know what you guys thought about this, any feedback would be greatly appreciated as it's one of my favorite aspects of writing.
And of course, may the Force be with you all today. :)