From Flames, I Soar

by Kurenaino

With the Empire at the height of its power and the shadow of a greater threat hanging above all those who would oppose Palpatine, the Specters, led by former Jedi Padawan Kanan Jarrus, are forced to contend with the Sith Lord that set the galaxy ablaze. Sequel to In Chaos, I Thrive.

49. The Protector of Concord Dawn

AN: My thanks to Glare for getting my thoughts straight on this one. There's A LOT going on here, including payoff for shit I started establishing back in the last part of this monster series. The Mandalore plot's starting to come together. Can you FEEL IT, KIDS?! Shit's going to be getting real very, very soon.

Chapter 49: The Protector of Concord Dawn

"Hey, Luke?" Leia said, sighing as she wiped the sweat off her brow and frowning when her brother looked quizzically up at her. "This is the literal worst." Beneath her, the wet, soapy rancor roared and shook himself, Leia stumbling to grab hold of his sloping horns and cursing as she struggled to regain her footing. "This, in no ways, has anything to do with the rebellion!"

"Father didn't say anything about the rebellion, Leia, he said we have chores," Luke said pointedly, quickly glancing back and Vitios and Vehemis, who were sparring nearby. "This is what happens when we do things your way..."

"Yes, well, my way gets things done, Brother."

"Really..." Luke drawled, pointing up at his sister. "Your way isn't getting Yoda washed faster."

"It's because he won't stay still!" Leia growled, placing her hand on the rancor's head and reaching to the beast through the Force, only to have the rancor shake his head and send her tumbling to the ground to her brother's delighted laughter. Standing quickly and flicking mud off her hands with as much dignity as she could muster, Leia laid her hands on the rancor's nose. "Did Father tell you to make this a challenge for us, Yoda? Or do you just like the attention?"

The rancor's tongue lolled out of his mouth, the rush of a heavy exhale ruffling the twins' hair as he rolled on his side right into the muddy puddle on the ground. "This rancor is never getting clean..." Luke said as he scratched the beast between the eyes, looking over his shoulder at the dueling Dark Siders, and Leia grinned wickedly as she followed his gaze.

"Oh, Luke," she chided, smacking him in the arm and the boy flushed deeply as he quickly looked back at her. "Do you think Father's new pets are cute?!" When the boy flushed deeper, Leia leaned against the rancor and laughed. "Oh, you do! Luke wants the hot Dark Siders!"

"I-I'm not like you, Leia!" Luke said indignantly, picking up his brush and dunking it in the bucket of soapy water. "I don't want to bed every beautiful thing I see!" The triumphant grin on Leia's face only made Luke flush deeper, and with an irritated growl, he returned to scrubbing the rancor's flank. "Besides, they aren't pets, Leia, they're the first of Father's Dark Councilors for his Empire."

"...you know, I bet Father would let you fu-"

"I'll tell Father about the scoundrels you've been hanging around with it you don't stop." Leia balked at that, shot a quick glance behind her to make certain Obi-Wan was out of earshot, and seeing the Sith Lord quickly returning from his scouting, she cursed under her breath and returned to scrubbing the rancor.

They had come to Millius Prime, one of the thousand plus moons of the planet Iego, in search of a base for the Phoenix Squadron, though Obi-Wan had said otherwise when they had left that morning, something about preparing for a trip deep into Sith Space to search for a way to defeat Darth Sidious. Which wasn't a lie, of course, but he didn't tell her that this training trip would occur on worlds possibly suitable for a rebel base. Force forbid that Hera Syndula knew that Obi-Wan Kenobi cared.

"As far as bases go," Obi-Wan said as he approached, Vitios and Vehemis stopping what they were doing and quickly filing in beside their Master, "Millius Prime isn't a bad choice. All these moons mess with scanners, the Imperial presence out here is virtually non-existent..." He smirked slightly when Yoda rolled on to his back, the twins groaning in irritation as the beast became dirty all over again. "It may be too remote for Hera, though."

"Does she have to be near Lothal, Father?" Luke asked as he climbed up on the rancor's stomach and began scrubbing his belly. "If she has a base and ships, she can travel. It shouldn't matter where, right?"

"Mm, the location is of great importance," Obi-Wan said softly. "Phoenix Squadron has operated in the Lothal sector for some time, and there is significant Imperial interest in the area. We need to be there or close to make the best use of our time."

"And this will help us bring about your Empire, Father?" Leia asked excitedly, and Obi-Wan nodded, laid his hand upon the rancor's snout, and the beast instantly relaxed, allowing the twins to more easily scrub at his stomach and flank.

"In time, Leia. Patience," he whispered, closing his eyes and touching the Force, and quickly backed out when he felt the vision of his end pull him in. It was becoming faster now. So close...so close. "I've been waiting almost twenty years to rule over a Sith Empire from Mandalore to Mustafar...I can wait a few years more."

"Can you?" Luke asked, his tone shaking and uncertain, and Obi-Wan quickly looked at him, felt the worry, the concern, and with a sigh, he closed his eyes and said nothing. "Father..." Luke continued, stepping closer to the Sith Lord. "I know you are worried about your visions, I know you think that...t-that your end is near, but if you let us help you..."

"What do you see in the Force?" Obi-Wan asked the boy quietly. "In your visions, when you look into the future, what is it you see?"

"...not what you see, Father," Luke said with a sigh. "And nothing I understand. I see Master Yoda and Qui-Gon standing as bright points in the Force. I see...an asteroid field that feels like death and a broken moon surrounded by Star Destroyers. I see...an Imperial in white with blue skin overlooking Lothal. I-I see..." Luke swallowed hard and closed his eyes, his hand clenched tightly by his side. "I see Vader. Nothing distinct, just him and his breathing drawing closer and closer..."

"Father," Leia quickly interrupted, her brow drawn with concern as she looked at the Sith. "Luke doesn't need to tell you that he doesn't see you in his visions. If you just let us help you, if you just...give me Nihilus' mask, I can-"

"Out of the question, Leia, we have been over this," Obi-Wan said firmly. "The mask is dangerous."

"Just for a moment!" Leia said swiftly. "Just long enough to see where Nihilus hid his holocron! If you can learn from him, Father, if you can learn to do what he did, you could drain the life right out of Sidious before this fight of yours even begins!"

"Provided the mask even has such information, or that his holocron hasn't been found by someone else," Obi-Wan growled. "No, Leia. We will find another way. That's the whole point of our trip to the Valley of the Dark Lords. If there's something to find, we shall find it there."

"But when are we going?!" Leia sighed, pouting when she saw the devious smirk on the Sith Lord's face.

"When you are ready, my child."

"Father?" Luke asked as he slid off the rancor to stand beside his sister. "Is this one of those, 'When you're ready, you will join the rebellion,' or do you actually mean it?"

"Oh, I always mean what I say, Luke..." Obi-Wan drawled, his golden eyes glowing with sinister light as he laid his hands on the waists of the women beside him. "Vitios. Vehemis. Parod temias berniuk tave midwan iv'tave Qyâsik. Isar nenx'akida negu'tau galetis pradzia darval." Show these children the power of the Force. Do not stop until they cannot rise again. Slow, sly grins spread across the Twi'lek and the Chagrian's faces as they drew and ignited their lightsabers, slowly advancing on the twins as they retreated and drew their own blades, nervous looks on their faces as the Dark Siders lunged. They rushed away from the rancor and the Sith and into the open clearing upon the forested plateau they had landed upon, the blades swinging fast and sparking as red struck green and blue, the youthful combatants lithe and athletic as they dodged and flipped around each other.

"Don't work them too hard, Obi-Wan." The Sith Lord ground his teeth together and shivered at the soft, warm breath of the Force that materialize beside him.

"Every single day, Qui-Gon..." Obi-Wan groaned. "When are you going to die for good..." He glanced sidelong at the Jedi spirit, calm and serene as he kept vigil over the twins, and the Sith Lord sighed, his irritation and anger quickly fading. "And they aren't children anymore, are they? I can't protect them forever, and they must be ready for the day when they must protect themselves..."

"All things must end, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said softly. "Even you."

"Well, thank you for that reminder!" Obi-Wan snapped. "I don't need you to tell me that the Force no longer has a use for me! Is this why you passed into immortality?! To vex me?! On that subject, when will you finally end, hmm? Soon, I hope, I'm tired of being haunted."

"You may very well end before I do, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said grimly, and the Sith Lord slowly turned, vicious, angry eyes on the spirit.

"I bet you would love that," Obi-Wan hissed dangerously. "All of this, all of it is because of you, I feel to the Dark Side, I joined the Sith because you pushed me to darkness!" He scoffed bitterly, his arms crossed over his chest and looking out at the twins, no longer fighting and now standing and listening intently as Vitios and Vehemis instructed them and corrected the flaws in their technique. "I bet it feel great. Your biggest failure, finally reaching the end."

"There is nothing satisfying in seeing you suffer, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said quietly, shifting closer to the Sith Lord, and while the golden eyes narrowed and his mouth curled up in a sneer, he didn't move away. "I never considered you a failure, for that matter, but I unquestionably failed you. I am...trying to atone for what's been done. Just as you are."

"Yes, well, maybe people like us don't deserve redemption," the Sith Lord grumbled. "Maybe, no matter how much we wish it, there's no forgiveness for what we have done..."

"...Obi-Wan, it's never to late to-"

"Yes it is," he quickly interrupted. "For me, it is. I crossed the point of no return long, long ago. Murder and manipulations and the death of billions on my hands...even if I wished it, I can never return to the light. Some things are just...unforgivable. To seek redemption would only see me answering for my crimes with my death, there is no redemption for me..." With a heavy sigh, Obi-Wan looked down at his hands, shaking slightly, and clenched the tightly. "I can never be forgiven..."

"You do not believe the people that surround you now believe you can find forgiveness?" Qui-Gon asked, and the Sith Lord responded by laughing bitterly.

"They aren't the ones I would need to seek forgiveness from, now are they?" Obi-Wan whispered. "But most of those I've wronged are dead, and there is no forgiveness to be had from ghosts. Barriss, Grievous, Ventress, Dooku, Luminara, Padmé, Quinlan..." He took a deep, shuddering breath and looked up at the sky, away from the spirit. "Force help me, Quinlan and Satine and the son I never got to hold...I have wronged them all, and not a single one of them is alive to forgive me because I did this, my actions are responsible for their deaths..." Obi-Wan laughed bitterly, closed his eyes tight and shook his head. "All that's truly left is Vader, and we all know that's never going to happen because I can't forgive him either, not for all he's done to me." His eyes narrowed, a vicious sneer on his lips as he glanced at the Force ghost. "Just like I will never forgive you. You made this happen, all of this was you."

"I've made my peace with what I've done," Qui-Gon said softly, sadly, his ghostly visage wavering slightly. "I know what my actions have wrought on the galaxy, and I did what I could with the time I had to set things right."

"...I-I know..." Obi-Wan whispered, his gaze falling to the ground and breathing deeply to regain control of his emotions. "I know you did what you could. Too late, perhaps, and too little, but you did."

"I know it means very little to you, Obi-Wan, but for what it's worth, I forgive you."

"S-stop that..." the Sith Lord growled when he felt the warm comfort of the Force envelop him in a gentle embrace, furiously pushing the feeling away with a cold, hateful spike through his heart. "You know how it burns me, why do you insist on doing this..." With a quick wave of his hand, Yoda pushed himself up off the ground with a groan and lumbered off to the nearby slowly moving river that ut through the clearing, and he collapsed within it, a wave of water sloshing up to the surface and turning the soft earth quickly into mud.

"All my life," Obi-Wan whispered, his eyes on the children nearby, but his gaze looked far past them at something distant and long past, "I have followed the will of the Force. I tried my best to be an instrument os its design, I followed it into darkness when I felt the shifting tides, I gave up everything I used to be, everything I could have been, and I have been rewarded with death and betrayal. The Force has taken everything from me, and now, it has even taken my ability to see anything other than my own terrible fate. The Force is no longer my ally, and I don't know where I went wrong..."

"Perhaps you didn't," Qui-Gon gently suggested. "Perhaps this is where you have always been headed. Maybe this is simply how your story ends."

"Is that it?" the Sith Lord asked quietly. "Is this what the Force had in store for me all along? That I would guide Luke and Leia to adulthood, and now that they are there, the Force no longer has a use for me? That I am simply to be...discarded?!" A choked, bitter sob tore through the Sith Lord's chest, and turning away from Qui-Gon, he rubbed his sleeve over his face. "Sith Hells, what is even the point of me. I joined the Sith to change the galaxy. Was it all really for nothing if it is simply to end like this? What does the Force want with me..."

"I'm certain I don't know..."

"And what's the point of you if you are one with the Force and are blind to its will?!" Obi-Wan snapped viciously, and Qui-Gon met him only with a sad smile.

"You know that's not how this works. Time is as nothing here. Everything around me is the present."

"As it has always been..." Obi-Wan growled, but the hard edge had gon out of his voice. "I deserved better..." the Sith lord whispered. "I have given all I had to give, I have followed the will of the Force. As a Jedi, I was discarded, unappreciated, ignored, and as a Sith, I was betrayed by yet another Master. The Force is cruel. It has taken everything from me, and I deserve so much better!"

"The Force works beyond our understanding, you know this," Qui-Gon said as he inched closer, but the writhing tides of the Dark Side surrounding the Sith kept him at bay. "Perhaps your vision is incomplete. Perhaps it is simply a warning, or the vision is not literal. Perhaps Sidious is manipulating what you see, perhaps your inability to see beyond is simply a product of his hand."

"...I confess I have considered that," Obi-Wan mumbled. "I should like to believe it. I don't want my time to end, I am not ready..." he whispered, a faint smile on his lips as he watched Luke and Leia abandon their sabers in favor of jumping into the river with the rancor, their task of cleaning him suddenly much easier now that the beast was cooperating. "My children still need me..."

"Father!" Luke cried from the edge of the river, his light tan tunic completely soaked through and a bright smile on his youthful face. "Does this count as cleaning the rancor? Can we check this off of the list?"

"I only said you had to wash Yoda, boy, I didn't specify how it needed to be done." Obi-Wan grinned broadly when Luke's jaw went slack, and Leia looked at him with indignant outrage. "I assure you, children, everything on that list could be difficult, as you have chosen to do, or an exercise of your skills in the Force to simplify the task. Never let it be said I do not put a focus on your training, it is your own limitations that keep you from creatively using the gifts you were born with."

"...I told you, Luke!" Leia screeched, jumping off the rancor and tackling her brother to the ground. "I told you Father wouldn't be angry if I mentally dominated the beast!"

"Only you tried and you failed, Leia!" Luke snapped in return, shoving his sister away. "Get off!" Leia shot an angry, pointed look at her Father, as if to ask him how he could do this, and he simply shrugged.

"I didn't say it would be easy, Leia. These tasks are meant to challenge you, not baby you. You want to show off your skills, you must be met with an appropriately difficult challenge. It is not my doing that you failed to command the rancor to do your bidding."

"W-well the task was unfair!" Leia stuttered, biting her bottom lip when she heard how foolish it sounded. "You and the rancor share a bond, how am I supposed to push past that?!"

"One can only grow when faced with adversity and failure," Obi-Wan said with a grin. "That is the way of the Sith. The conquest of your weakness and the acquisition of power through struggle and hardship." He pointed at Yoda rolling lazily in the river. "You must be strong to control my rancor. Once you can, you'll know you have become more powerful."

"You know, Qui-Gon doesn't teach us like this..." Leia muttered, shooting the Force spirit a pleading look, and the Sith Lord simply scoffed.

"Yes, well, Qui-Gon is dead, Princess. Killed by the Sith, so you tell me who has more to offer you."

"He doesn't mean it, Ghost Uncle Qui-Gon," Luke whispered to the spirit. "You've taught us lots about the Force."

The small smile on Obi-Wan's lips as he watched Luke and Leia, under Qui-Gon's guidance, attempt to control the rancor faded when a deep, hard pounding erupted in the back of his mind, the Force rushing through his ears and he shut his eyes tight, his teeth grinding together as he felt the sudden disturbance around him. Something had disturbed the Force, and a quick glance at the completely oblivious others made him immediately turn from the group and march into the Umbra.

"K2, contact the Ghost," Obi-Wan said as he rushed into the cockpit, the droid looking back at him and emitting an electronic sigh before doing as he was told.

"Something urgent, Master?" K2 droned. "Or do you just miss the company of the Jedi? You've only been away from him for a few days. Is this what you organics call love? HK would be appalled. I'll be certain to tell him."

"This isn't a joke, droid," Obi-Wan snapped, much more harshly than intended, and he slunk into the pilot's seat and glowered, avoiding looking over that the droid he knew was examining him. "Just do as I say..."

"...do you believe the Ghost's crew to be in danger?" K2 asked after a long, uncomfortable silence punctuated only by the slow, rhythmic beeping of the unanswered com.

"I don't know..." the Sith Lord muttered. "But I have a very bad feeling on the matter."

"Kenobi?" the small, cracking voice of Ezra Bridger said when the com was finally answered.

"Is everything alright?" Obi-Wan asked quickly, before Ezra could say anything else. "Did something happen?"

"...h-how did you know?" Ezra whispered, his voice shaking, and Obi-Wan felt the heavy knot in his stomach grow cold. "We're trying to get that route through Concord Dawn. We were wrong, Kenobi, these Mandalorians are Imperial, they attacked as soon as we told them who we are." He took a long, shuddering breath. "They...destroyed the ship Hera was flying. She's in critical condition, Obi-Wan, I don't..." The teenager's voice cracked, a stifled shuddering sob barely picked up by the transceiver. "We don't know if she's going to be alright..."

"You're trying to tell me that Hera Syndula, one of the greatest pilots I have ever seen, was shot out of the sky?!" He didn't know what to expect, but that was the absolute last thing he would have imagined. "Damn it, send me your current coordinates," Obi-Wan growled, furiously pulling levers and flipping switches as the Umbra powered on, smacking K2 on his armored chest and mouthing for him to get everyone on the ship. "I'm on the way."

---

It was worse than he had imagined. There was something surreal about seeing the lively, brilliant, beautiful Hera Syndula unconscious in the medical bay in such terrible condition. Bandages wrapped around her arms, her head, her lekku, and her torso covered blistering burns, long, bloody gashes and broken ribs, and while her vital signs had stabilized, one look at her made it clear that she was lucky to have survived. A distraught Kanan sat by her side with her hand gently held between his, his eyes closed in focus as he attempted to get control of his emotions, but he was clearly struggling with it. Obi-Wan didn't say a word as he grabbed a chair from the wall and pulled it to the other side of the bed, gently running the back of his knuckles over the Twi'lek's cheek.

"How was your trip?" Kanan asked listlessly, not once looking at the Sith Lord as he spoke.

"Shorter than intended..." Obi–Wan muttered. "We got some training in, though, and the rancor got washed. The important things."

"Yes..."

"...what happened?" Obi-Wan asked gently. "The Protectors on Concord Dawn have always made their own way, they shouldn't have attacked like that. It's not like them."

"Maybe you're wrong..." Kanan muttered. "Maybe Mandalore is lost. Maybe their Moff is just another kriffing Imperial."

"No," Obi-Wan said firmly. "Bo-Katan has always stood by me."

"How can you be so sure?" Kanan snapped, glaring at the Sith Lord before he winced, bit down on his lip and took a few deep, calming breaths. "S-sorry...when was the last time you saw Moff Kryze?"

"Not so long that I don't know where she stands, Kanan," Obi-Wan said firmly. "Trust me, Mandalore is with us. But their situation is...difficult. If the Empire finds out that Mandalore doesn't stand with them, Bo-Katan will be deposed, and the Imperials will subjugate the people. They're strong, and they'll put up a fight, but they're hiding too much, the Imperial information they have access too is far too valuable to lose were they to be exposed." Obi-Wan took Hera's hand in his and brought it to his lips. "It's not something we can afford to lose."

"But we need those routes, Obi-Wan," Kanan said, his brow drawing together in irritation as he looked at the Sith Lord.

"And we can get those routes," Sabine snapped as she entered the room, her helmet tucked under her arm and her entire body shaking with fury. "I've tracked them from Concord Dawn's third moon, they must have a base there. I say we infiltrate, and destroy their ability to attack us by blowing up their ships!"

"Ugh, why is it that blowing things up is the first thing you Mandalorians turn to?!" Kanan said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Are all Mandalorians crazy, or is it just you?" He glanced sidelong at Obi-Wan. "...never mind, I answered my own question..."

"To what end, Sabine?" Obi-Wan asked quietly. "Blowing up their ships will not secure a route, they will simply call for more ships, and the Empire will deliver. The route will be clear for a day, maybe. That is hardly worth the risk or the effort."

"Yeah, well you don't have a say in this, Shadow King!" Sabine spat, her jaw clenched tightly in anger. "If the Protectors were an independent faction like we thought, maybe, but they aren't, they're Imperial. And don't you dare say anything about Moff Kryze! She sold Mandalore to the Empire, she is not our ally!"

"Because she can't be," Obi-Wan said firmly. "And we have discussed this, Sabine, you know very well that Bo-Katan is an ally."

"No, I don't know that!" Sabine snapped. "The Protectors said they stand with the Empire, they nearly killed Hera! Now that we need them, Mandalore isn't there for us! If she's as good an ally as you say, they should know who we are, they should have helped us instead of shooting at us! After all this time, Moff Bo-Katan hasn't helped us once!"

"Because she cannot. Not now, not yet, not openly."

"Not ever!" Sabine snapped. "But that doesn't even matter now! What does matter is I know who the Protector of Concord Dawn is. Fenn Rau, and he's going to pay for what he did to Hera!"

"Now, now, Sabine, don't you go doing anything stupid," Obi-Wan said dangerously, but the young Mandalorian only drew up tall, her eyes furious and filled with unshed tears.

"This is my fault," she said, starting strong, but her voice broke at the end. "I should have made sure Hera was with me, I shouldn't have gone ahead! And so help me, Kenobi, I will have revenge for what was done to her!"

"Fenn Rau..." Kanan said quietly, his eyes closed as he gently stroked Hera's head. "I...know that name. He led a squadron that fought in the Clone Wars during the Battle of Mygeeto. I was there." Kanan looked at the Twi'lek quietly for a moment, stroked her cheek, and resolutely nodded his head. "Hera wanted to try and forge an alliance here, since we were led to believe that the Protectors didn't submit to anyone's rule. I think we should give an alliance another shot."

"Are you out of your mind?!" Sabine almost yelled. "Kanan, look what they did to Hera! Even if they weren't Imperial, which they said they were, they still need to pay!"

"But we gain nothing by attacking them!" Kanan said firmly. "That's not how you secure a route, Sabine, that's how you make enemies and swarm this system with Imperials! I intend on finishing Hera's mission because it's what she would want us to do! I believe I have a chance to do that if I could just get down there and talk to this guy."

"Or how about you leave the Mandalorians alone?" Obi-Wan drawled as he stood from his seat. "If the Protectors are hostile, turn around, leave and don't look back. There are other routes that can be secured."

"And that's it?!" Sabine gasped in disbelief. "You're just going to let these bastards get away with what they did to Hera?! Kenobi, when you were wronged, you burned planets, you lead the armies of Mandalore against those who struck against you and you destroyed them! You cannot deny us our revenge!"

"These routes were selected for a reason," Kanan cut in. "Hera picked these routes for a reason. I think we should give this another chance. Everyone deserves another chance."

"That wasn't a suggestion, Kanan," Obi-Wan snapped dangerously. "You are already down one member of your team. I will not stand to see another in danger today." The Sith Lord didn't say another word to them as he turned and stormed out of the medical wing, leaving a confused and angry Kanan and Sabine in his wake.

"...he's up to something," Kanan muttered when Obi-Wan was out of view. "I don't like it."

"I don't like any of it," Sabine grumbled, her hands on her blasters as she started to head out the room, only to have her arm caught by the Jedi.

"Sabine, don't," Kanan strongly cautioned the petulant girl as she tore her arm away from his grasp. "Nothing good can come of attacking them, understand? Nothing."

"And you're just going to leave it at that?!" Sabine wrenched her arm away and shook her head in disbelief. "Kanan, look what they did! They almost killed Hera! How can you not want revenge, you're supposed to love her!"

"Don't you dare-" Kanan stopped himself quickly when he rose to his feet by biting down on his tongue, his hand clenched tightly at his side as he slowly lowered himself back down to his seat, his fingers gently tracing over the gentle slope of Hera's jaw when he relaxed. "I'm just grateful she's alive..." Kanan said in a choked whisper. "Hera wouldn't want us to go acting like fools just because someone was hurt, she wouldn't want us looking for vengeance. Hera...wouldn't put her own needs before the needs of the rebellion." Kanan took a deep breath, leaned over, and gently kissed the Twi'lek's forehead before he got up from his seat. "If there was even a remote shot at securing these routes, Hera would want us to try again. I'm going."

"Kanan, they obviously aren't open for negotiations!" Sabine said, following the Jedi as he left the room. "The only thing the Mandalorians understand is strength, and they just kicked our ass! Talking isn't how to do this!"

"Your way will have them calling for Imperial reenforcements," Kanan reminding her, never once slowing his pace as he walked through the corridors of Phoenix Home toward the docking port where the Ghost sat waiting. "It's rash, and it's reckless. And you said yourself that the Protectors are different. I can infiltrate their base, I can talk to their leader. I think I have a shot at making this work." The Jedi groaned and ran his hand over his face as he stepped into the small hallway that tethered the two ships together. "And I sort of have to. No way is Kenobi just going to let this sit, you know how he gets. If I can get to the Protectors before him, then maybe I can keep the situation from escalating."

"Not without me you won't," Sabine scoffed, following the Jedi up the ladder and into the Phantom. "I'm Mandalorian, I understand them like you don't. You're going to need me there."

"Sabine, we already lost Hera!" Kanan said forcefully, throwing himself in the Phantom's pilot seat and preparing the ship for flight. "This is a one man mission. I won't have more of us in danger."

"Then why not stay and just let Kenobi deal with it?!" Sabine growled. "He seems to think the Mandalorians are his allies, so why not just let him go on down there and just tell them to let us through?"

"You know as well as I it's not so simple," Kanan sighed. "And you also know that Kenobi isn't going to be going down there play nice, he's going down there to kill."

"So maybe we'll get access to the routes after all," Sabine said with a smug smirk on her face. "If they're too scared to fight against him, they'll allow us through their territory."

"Force help me, he really is one of you crazy Mandalorians, isn't he? You sound just like him." Sabine gave the Jedi a mocking bow. "This all works out best if we can stay friendly."

"And if it doesn't, you're going to need me down there," Sabine said, turning his seat to face her. "Kanan, if things go wrong, we need to make sure there's no way they can attack us. Let me come with you, and we can destroy their ability to fight back by destroying their ships. If you can't work something out, they're going to be coming after us anyway, so I say we make certain they are neutralized. Just in case."

For a long moment, Kanan sat and looked at the girl, a frown on his face as he considered his options, and with a heavy sigh, he turned the chair back toward the console. "Fine," he said tersely, ignoring the silent celebration of the girl as she strapped herself in to an acceleration chair. "But nobody dies Understand?"

"You got it, boss!" the girl chirped excitedly, and with a groan, Kanan disconnected the Phantom from the Ghost and made the jump to hyperspace.

---

"They already have Imperial reinforcements..." Sabine hissed to the Jedi, the two of them laying flat on the plateau above the crater where the Protectors kept their base, an Imperial shuttle slowly landing on their wide open landing field. From their vantage point, they couldn't see the strength of the people emerging from the shuttle, nor the sort of Imperials that had been sent to support the Protectors.

"Think they're telling the Empire about us?" Kanan asked, and the girl beside him swiftly nodded.

"Absolutely," Sabine said softly. "I told you this was a bad idea. We should plant the charges, destroy their ships and get out."

"Not until I've had a chance to talk to their leader..." Kanan muttered, his eyes narrowing as he caught sight of a young Imperial officer approaching a Mandalorian that Sabine had identified as Fenn Rau, the officer handing something off to the Protector, saluting quickly, and disappearing back inside the shuttle. Kanan and Hera scooted away from the ledge when the shuttle lifted off the ground once again, slowly rose into the air, and when it was clear, flew off toward the atmosphere. When the shuttle was gone, they crawled back to the ledge and looked below to see the Mandalorians shuffling crates into one of the small storage buildings while Fenn Rau stood speaking to two soldiers in blue and black armor. Beside him, Sabine hissed.

"Death Watch..." she muttered quietly. "The most elite of the Shadow Legion. They only get sent out for top priority stuff, Rau definitely told the Empire we're in the area."

"...did you bring enough explosives to destroy all their ships?" Kanan asked as he leaned over to her, his eyes fixed on Fen Rau as he entered a building backed up against the slope of the crater with one of the Death Watch at his side, the other accompanying a small group of warriors as they fanned out among their ships.

"Do you even have to ask if I have enough explosives?" Sabine scoffed, rising to her knees and rolling her shoulders. "Listen, Kanan..." she said softly, almost shy, her shoulders slumping slightly with a feeling that Kanan couldn't quite place. There was an uncertainty to the usually confident Sabine, and the Jedi wasn't sure why. "If things go wrong, I can..." She stopped, was silent for a moment, and shook her head. "Good luck, Kanan. I really hope you're successful."

"I think I can be. The Imperials didn't stay, so I'm hoping these guys are more independent that your average servant of the Empire."

"They are Imperials, Kanan," Sabine said grimly. "Don't forget that." Without another word, the Mandalorian rose to a crouch and ran as stealthily as she could around the ledge of the crater, and with a heavy sigh, Kanan grabbed hold of the edge and slowly slid down the sloping depression to hide behind one of the many prefabricated buildings. Keeping his eyes open for the patrolling guard, Kanan silently ran from cover to cover toward the large building at the end of the compound. The guard was fairly easy to avoid, the presence here a small one, and Kanan couldn't help but feel a deep, unsettling knot twist in his stomach when he thought of Hera, and how skilled these warriors must have been to take her and several others in their advanced scouting crew down.

Easing his stride as he approached the building, Kanan took a deep breath and steeled his nerves, and when his pounding heart had slowed, he slowly stepped into the building, a cozy recreational room, from the look of it, a bar in the back and several small tables placed around the room. Fenn Rau sat at one of the tables, a wide glass filled with a steaming liquid on the table before him, his helmet placed on the table as he sighed tiredly and looked right at Kanan. Swallowing his nerves, Kanan stepped inside, his eyes on the Death Watch soldier leaning against the bar, her fingers lazily tracing the hilt of her blaster.

"You've got some nerve to sneak on to my base," Fenn Rau drawled as Kanan stepped confidently inside, the Mandalorian drawing his blaster and pointing it at the Jedi, though Kanan didn't feel any threat in the man. He was...curious. "I assume you're one of the rebels I dealt with earlier."

"A pretty good guess..." Kanan said softly as he walked closer, pulled out a chair at the table across from the Mandalorian, and sat down upon it. Rau sighed, rolled his eyes, but slid his blaster back in its holster.

"I don't recognize you as one of our regulars," Rau droned, picking up his glass and taking another drink. "Before I kill you where you stand, why don't you tell me what you want?"

"You might not know me, but I know you," Kanan said, carefully observing the man's every reaction. "You're Fenn Rau of the Skull Squadron." The man drew back, his eyes wide, and Kanan leaned in slightly, a smirk on his lips. "Third battle of Mygeeto. I was there. We were pinned down, and your squadron came in and saved us, even though your people took no sides in the war. It was...an honorable thing to do."

"The Protectors were mercenary at the time," Rau said measuredly. "The Kaminoans hired us to help train the clones, and we simply fell into the Republic after that. Mand'alor Satine never objected, and after she died and was avenged, the Protectors continued fighting. Not our war, but our ways are the ways of the warrior." Rau quirked his head and examined the man across from him. "That was a very long time ago. I was younger then. More reckless. It was a different time."

"With a different leader..." Kanan said softly, and the Mandalorian frowned, his brow wrinkling in irritation. "Your Empire is gone, and you're being ruled by another one."

"I fail to see what this has to do with me," Rau growled, and Kanan took a deep breath, his eyes briefly drifting to the Death Watch soldier, her hands never leaving the blaster at her hip.

"You gave me a chance to live," Kanan drawled, a slight smirk touching his lips. "I'd like to return the favor." The sound of a blaster being drawn and the high whine as the charge primed filled the air, and Kanan slowly looked over the see that the Death Watch soldier had drawn her weapon and was pointing it directly at him.

"Careful now, rebel scum..." Rau said quietly, picking up his glass and slowly sipping from it. "That sounds a great deal like a threat."

"It isn't," Kanan said firmly, his eyes locked with Rau's to avoid making the Death Watch warrior feel threatened or challenged. "Your people were great once, and now they serve a corrupt Empire. You must know they aren't interested in sharing their power."

"Maybe not, but Mandalore is strong under them," Rau drawled. "And the Empire is certainly stronger than you. If this is about joining you in your futile fight against the Empire, you are out of your mind. Why should I side against the Empire and my Mand'alor when fighting you is so much easier?"

"Because in the end, everyone is the Empire's enemy," Kanan said, lowering his voice and glancing quickly at the Death Watch soldier before looking back at Fenn Rau. "If we don't stand against them, we are all lost. You can't possibly believe in the Empire."

"Perhaps not..." the Death Watch soldier said, pushing off the counter and sauntering forward, and Fenn Rau quickly rose and stepped away from the table as the woman removed her helmet, her fiery red hair tumbling to shoulder length and she gave the Jedi a cursory once-over with intelligent, bright green eyes. "But he does believe in me, and I am an Imperial."

"Mand'alor..." Rau growled softly as he drew up beside her. "You don't need to bother yourself with this rebel..."

"I have heard enough," she said almost sweetly, her blaster aimed at Kanan's heart and very slowly, the Jedi raised his hands in surrender. "And you're not just any rebel, are you?" she asked, drawing closer to Kanan, an amused smirk on her face. "You are Kanan Jarrus. Jedi survivor and leader of Lothal's rebel insurgency."

"Bo-Katan..." Kanan barely whispered, hardly daring to breathe when an amused smirk twisted her face. He swallowed hard as he looked at the woman, trying to discern if this woman was friend or foe, but the cold, hard feel he got from her did not seem promising. "Obi-Wan Kenobi's been looking for you." The amusement fell from her face in an instant, those green eyes narrowing in anger.

"If survival was your goal, Jedi, you said the wrong thing."

Kanan stood quickly, his hands moving swiftly to grab the two pieces of his disassembled lightsaber from his belt as Bo-Katan tossed her helmet to Fenn Rau, her arm extended toward the Jedi, and a sudden pulse of energy send Kanan slamming against the wall, the two pieces of his saber knocked from his hands and sent rolling across the floor. As Kanan scrambled to his feet after he fell, his hand extended and calling the pieces to him, a glowing yellow grappling line shot out from the vambrace on Bo-Katan's wrist, the plasma rope wrapping around the Jedi and binding his arms to his side, and with a swift yank, Kanan was pulled off balance and sent tumbling to the ground. He struggled against the restraints, but they were firmly secured, held taut by the Mand'alor that now towered over him.

"My people have been killing yours for thousands of years..." Bo-Katan said impassively, her hand held out to accept the pieces on Kanan's lightsaber that Rau laid against her palm. "What chance did you think you had?"

"Honestly?" Kanan groaned. "We didn't think you'd be here."

"And why shouldn't I be?" she scoffed. "The rebel faction associated with the Shadow King shows up in my territory. Seems to me like he's making a move. I'd be foolish not to be here." Tugging on the grappling line, she pulled Kanan up to his knees, and with a triumphant smirk, she patted his cheek. "And now that I've captured you, Jedi, he's sure to come. I have a score to settle after our fight on Lothal."

"So...you aren't going to help the rebellion?" Kanan asked lightly, and with a forced smile, Bo-Katan motioned for Fenn Rau to detain the Jedi, the Mandalorian moving immediately to do as he was told, and binders were fastened to Kanan's wrists.

"Mand'alor!" the other Death Watch soldier called as he entered the room. "We caught this rat skulking about the ships and planting explosives on their hull," he said as he held up a detonation device, two other soldiers following close behind him and throwing Sabine upon the ground at Bo-Katan's feet. "She says she's a Wren, and she's invoked her right to single combat."

Grimacing, Sabine pushed herself to her knees, and stared in wide eyed horror at the redhead that stood above her, and she quickly reached for her blasters, only to find her holsters empty. Swallowing hard, the teenager did her best to glare defiantly at the Mand'alor, though it fell flat, the fear within her overshadowing everything else.

"Well, I'll be damned..." Bo-Katan drawled as she eyed the girl. "Sabine Wren...your mother's been worried sick about you."

"Yeah, I'll just bet..." Sabine grumbled, her gaze falling to the ground when she found herself unable to look at the woman before her.

"She's going to be so pleased to have you back home, though I don't believe she will be very happy that you've fallen in with this..." She gestured to where Kanan knelt with his hands tightly bound behind his back. "Jedi," she sneered in disgust. "Rebel filth. It seems you have forgotten what it meant to be Mandalorian. Our very way of life set forth in the Resol'nare...have you forgotten, little Wren?" Bo-Katan chided, and Sabine closed her eyes.

"Ba'jur bal beskar'gam, ara'nov, aliit, Mando'a bal Mand'alor, an vencuyan mhi," Sabine chanted under her breath. "Education and armor, self-defense, our tribe, our language and our leader, all help us survive..."

"You remember that, at the very least..." Bo-Katan scoffed. "Obey the commands of your Mand'alor, as all true children of Mandalore must. Show us you are still one of us, Sabine. Prove you are worthy of the Wren name." The redhead held out her hand to the girl at her feet. "It's easy. Swear yourself to me, as you have once before, and I will take you home where you belong. Back to your family." A slight smile tugged at the edges of Bo-Katan's lips when Sabine's shoulders tensed. "Come now, girl, I can be merciful. I am fond of your mother, we have been close friends for a very long time. Return with me now, and I will forgive your transgressions and your betrayal."

"Betrayal..." Sabine whispered as she chuckled bitterly. "I...follow the will of the Mand'alor," she said softly, finally looking up and meeting Bo-Katan's eyes with fierce defiance. "But you are not my Mand'alor! You are a traitor to our people and a disgrace to the memory of the one who came before you! I follow the true Mand'alor, I follow the Shadow King."

"What a pity," Bo-Katan said coldly, glaring down at the defiant girl with disgust. "Your mother will be so disappointed..." She flicked her wrist dismissively in the air. "Restrain her. I want her and the Jedi detained. Keep them under close guard until I am ready to bring them back to Sundari for interrogation."

"No, Bo-Katan, wait!" Sabine snapped furiously as she struggled against the men that pushed her against the ground and roughly bound her hands behind her back. "I have a score to settle! I demand my right to single combat!"

"What right?" the woman snarled, her composure finally breaking as she knelt before Sabine, grabbed a fistful of her hair, and pulled her head up, forcing the girl to look at her. "You gave up the right the moment you turned your back on your people! Only a Mandalorian has the right to such, and you are dar'manda." Bo-Katan released Sabine, allowing her head to drop back to the ground. "You want the right to die honorably in single combat, Wren? Take it up with your Mand'alor." Dropping into a chair and crossing one leg over the other, she gave a short, dismissive wave, a disgusted sneer on her face. "Get them out of my sight," the Moff commanded, and Kanan and Sabine were dragged from the room, the two rebels silent and resigned to their capture and silently planning the best way to escape.

---

It was a mess. Not even just the regular mess that she had been used to dealing with over the past fifteen plus years, but a dangerous mess. Bo-Katan had dealt with her share of rebels, but for the most part, they had been smart enough to avoid Mandalore, and by the time they did manage to become a big enough problem to attract her attention, they were too bold or too stupid to be of any use to the rebellion. She executed most of them, very, very publicly in order to maintain appearances and to further endear herself to Tarkin's brutal methods, and it served as a good reminder for her own rebellious people: be smart, and be cautious, lest the same fate befall them.

The Spectres apparently hadn't gotten the message.

It wasn't a bad plan, all things considered, as far as cutting through the Mandalorian territories went. The Protectors had always followed their own way, and like many Mandalorians, took orders more like helpful suggestions, and while they would heed the call of the Mand'alor, the Protectors of Concord Dawn took nobility and honor very seriously, objecting violently to what they viewed as injustice, which often put them at odds with the Empire they served. Fenn Rau heeded to Bo-Katan's will because the Empire was overwhelmingly powerful and the warriors of Mandalore have always respected strength above all else, but she was certain that when the Shadow King finally commanded Mandalore to heed his call, it wouldn't take much for the Protectors to rush to join him.

Or rush to defense of the Empire. She was never really sure about the Protectors.

But the Spectres took a risk, and they had paid for it. The Protectors had attacked, and the rebel's prodigious pilot had been shot right out of the sky, the wrecked ship having enough in it to jump to hyperspace before it was destroyed outright, but from Rau's report, it seemed very unlikely that she had survived. Without Hera Syndula, the entire Phoenix Squadron was crippled, even with the Jedi Kanan Jarrus leading them. Even if Obi-Wan were to step in and pick up the slack, it was a devastating blow, and being down such a skilled pilot often times meant the difference between life and death when on the run from relentless Imperial forces. If Hera Syndula really was dead, it was only a matter of time before the Spectres were captured or killed.

It was enough to bring Bo-Katan to Concord Dawn. High profile rebels like the Spectres demanded her attention, and in light of what had happened, it was a very real possibility that within the next few days, Obi-Wan Kenobi would be by to deliver his own brand of justice for the death of the pilot she knew he cared about. That two other Spectres had arrived was an unexpected surprise, but not an unwelcome one. That particular rebel faction wasn't one that left their own behind, and in the face of loss, it seemed a very likely scenario that they would remain in the area, perhaps attempt to seek revenge, which was partly what had happened. The Jedi, of course, remained a behavioral enigma, but she never expected sense from a Jedi.

Still, the capture of Sabine Wren and Kanan Jarrus guaranteed that Obi-Wan would come, since all that was left of their crew was the young Jedi and the Lasat, and while it was possible that they would act recklessly, it was a far greater possibility that Obi-Wan would come himself to save the Jedi he cared for and the Mandalorian named after the woman he loved. And if not...shipping Sabine back home to her mother gave Bo-Katan to orchestrate the rebels' escape in a way that didn't implicate her as a traitor among uncertain company. The Protectors were unpredictable, and she knew them to be carefully watched by Gar Saxon, the Imperial liaison in the area, not one of her boys, but an actual Imperial stooge, one of the ambitious Mandalorians who sought to see her ousted in order to achieve power themselves.

It was a difficult balance to maintain, to make certain that her people remained loyal to her, and not the Empire, a balance she knew she did not fully succeed in striking. When the time came, Obi-Wan's Mandalorians would rally to him, but hers would be divided, and those that stood against her would have the might of the Empire at their backs. No, they weren't ready, not yet, and appearances must be maintained, because Bo-Katan knew she was always being watched.

"Mand'alor," Fenn Rau said as he reentered the room and slowly approached the woman, standing just out of arm's reach beside her. "The rebels have been detained, and the explosives have been removed from the ships. You were right. The devastation would have been complete were they to be detonated."

"Never doubt the ingenuity of the Wrens, Rau..." she said softly, her eyes fixed on the liquid that slowly swirled in the glass she held. "They don't leave jobs uncompleted."

"Shall we contact Countess Wren?" he asked, and the woman shook her head.

"I'll call Ursa myself. She should hear it from me that I have caught her daughter working for these rebel insurgents. She's my friend. I owe her the courtesy of discussing the matter with her personally." Bo-Katan looked over her shoulder at the man as he stood awaiting her next directive, but it never came, and under the intensity of her stare, Fenn Rau shifted uncomfortably.

"There's no doubt the other rebels are nearby," Rau said hesitantly when he couldn't handle the silence anymore. "We can have our men in the air and searching the system on your word."

"No," the Moff said firmly, her fingers lightly tracing over the engraving on the left side of her chest, the small rows of square denoting her Imperial rank that stood as a substitute to the placard that would usually adorn an officer's uniform. "No, having their leader captured will almost certainly draw the rebels here. They are a sly bunch. I don't want them slipping past our defenses while the men were out looking for them. Fortify our position here and double the guards, and be aware that one of the rebels remaining is a Jedi." She flicked her wrist in dismissal. "Go. See it done. Have your men report to me the moment they find anything."

Fenn Rau bowed at the waist and marched out, barking commands to the men waiting outside, and Bo-Katan was alone once again. With a heavy sigh, the Mand'alor put the glass to her lips, drained it, and poured herself another drink. It was a difficult thing to do alone, and she found herself longing for the day that Obi-Wan called Mandalore to his side, the day where she could drop this farce and join him in his fight, the day she would tell her people that the day to join forces with their Shadow King was now, when they could throw off the yoke of the Empire and be truly Mandalorian once again. The day was coming, but not soon enough, and Bo-Katan had been more than patient.

She was halfway through her next drink when slow, deliberate footfalls carried someone into the room, and she glanced behind her at the Mandalorian warrior approaching her, his armor a polished jet black trimmed with gold, and her eyes narrowed in distaste before she turned back to her drink. The Protectors often took a very mercenary approach to the color of their armor, the colors chosen based on preference instead of allegiance, which, to Bo-Katan's sensibilities, left the prized armor meaningless. There was so much more to Mandalorian armor than protection. It carried with it a cultural weight, was a way of life, something that an outsider couldn't understand, and the Protectors were, and had been for a very long time, mercenary.

"Have you found anything for me, Mando?" she asked, taking a drink from her glass and feeling the irritation mount within her as he stopped too close behind her.

"We did," he said, and Bo-Katan froze when she heard the soft, clipped accent she knew so very well, and all the irritation vanished in a moment when he reached over her shoulder and laid the hilt of the Darksaber on the counter before her. With a shuddering breath, she turned around on her seat and looked up into the visor to stare into the black depths at the golden glowing points of light from within.

"What took you so long?" Bo-Katan asked pleasantly, a wry smirk on her lips as the man ambled back to put some space between them, a soft chuckle emitting from the speaker of the helmet. "You never did make it to Carlac for training after our last meeting."

"The unexpected keeps me busy," Obi-Wan drawled, his hands folded behind his back and shifting casually from foot to foot. "You know how it is."

"That I do..." Bo-Katan said with a sigh. "Like my most recent headache. Rebels in the Concord Dawn system, and not just any rebels. The Spectres. The Lothal rebels led by that kriffing Jedi."

"It's why I'm here..." Obi-Wan said softly, watching as Bo-Katan finished her drink, stood from her seat, and dragged her hand down the black armor covering his chest. His hand unconsciously drifted to the woman's hip, and with a soft sigh of relief and yearning, Bo-Katan stood up on her toes and pressed their foreheads together, the helmet between them a hated but necessary boundary that they both longed to be rid of.

"You couldn't have come soon enough," Bo-Katan whispered, her eyes drifting over the Sith Lord's shoulder to look at Fenn Rau as he stepped in the room and stumbled when he saw his Mand'alor pressed up close against a tall warrior. "Rau!" Bo-Katan called just as the man spun on his heel to leave, and he grimaced as he slowly faced the Moff.

"I...apologize for interrupting, Mand'alor..." Rau grumbled, his eyes lowered toward the ground modestly to keep himself from staring. "I...d-didn't know you were with-"

"No harm done, my friend," Bo-Katan said, grabbing Obi-Wan's arm and leading him past the gawking Fenn Rau. "But we do have things to discuss. Manage my matters while I am gone, and make sure your men know not to disturb me." She flashed the man a tight smile and patted his cheek. "We'll be out behind the storage sheds."

"I'll...be certain the men keep their distance..." Fenn Rau muttered, and flashing a charming grin at the flustered man, Bo-Katan pulled Obi-Wan out into the nippy air of Concord Dawn's moon. After quickly acknowledging the few soldiers milling about just outside, the two slowly walked back among the loose congregation of buildings and flimsy, temporary extensions on warehouses and ducked behind a small, overfilled storage room, crates and boxes stacked haphazardly outside as they awaited the space to be properly stored.

"Are you here to kill the Protectors?" Bo-Katan whispered after a quick check of the area to be certain they were alone. She'd have pulled them inside one of the buildings, but she wasn't sure they weren't being monitored. The Empire had a habit of watching everything. "After they killed your pilot, I figured it was only a matter of time before you arrived."

"Mm, you know me so well..." Obi-Wan drawled as he leaned against the wall of the building and crossed his arms over his chest. "But no, not this time. Hera isn't dead. I'm simply here to assess the situation."

"The pilot's alive?" the Mandalorian asked, her brow creasing in thought as she examined Obi-Wan's expressionless mask and the faint nod of his head. "Not an hour ago, I captured Two of the Spectres, I thought they came here for revenge."

"The Spectres are here?!" Obi-Wan hissed, leaning in closer to Bo-Katan, and the woman somberly nodded.

"The Jedi and the Mandalorian."

"Zarchas Valzino iv'tave Tsis! I am surrounded by fools and impulsive children!" the Sith Lord snapped, furiously pacing back and forth, Bo-Katan calmly watching as his gloved fists clenched, blue static sparking around the gauntlet and up the length of his arm until it quickly dissipated, his shoulders slumping as he leaned tiredly against the wall once again. "Force help me if I didn't have you, Bo-Katan. I'm fortunate they fell into your hands instead of much less friendly ones."

"It wasn't luck that brought me here, it was your pilot being shot out of the sky," Bo-Katan muttered soothingly, reaching up to brush her hand against the side of his helmet. "You're never far behind them, and I needed to see you."

"I never thought you to be one to want for male companionship, Bo," the Sith said, chuckling softly when the Moff rolled her eyes, though she placed her hand firmly upon his chest to press him against the wall as she drew closer.

"The Empire leaves something to be desired when one's tastes are for kings," she whispered, and Obi-Wan groaned deeply, his hand snaking around her waist and pulling her close when he felt the pull of mutual desire tear through the Force. "But more than that," the Moff said slowly. "Your plans, Kenobi. The rebels being here make it seem as though you are testing Mandalorian resolve. I can't allow that. We aren't ready, not now, not with so many eyes upon us."

"Hera is insistent that a route through Mandalorian territory is a necessity," Obi-Wan said, firmly despite the tenderness of his touch as his hand slid into her hair. "The Empire is tightening their hold on the surrounding areas, it's making our work far more difficult. The route running through the Concord Dawn system connects almost directly to the Lothal sector. We need this route."

"You want the Empire to be tightening it's grip on Mandalore too?" she asked, a mocking, almost irreverent edge to her voice. "They aren't stupid, and there are almost as many eyes on you and your rebels as there are on me. Your rebels start using the route, and it won't be long before I am forced into open conflict or complete submission, and I sure as hell am not going to submit to these Imperial dogs." She sneered in contempt and spat on the ground to rid herself of the vile taste in her mouth. "Nobody rules over Mandalore but the Mandalorians, and I have sacrificed so much to make certain it stays that way." She laughed bitterly, her eyes closing as she turned her face away from the Sith, her hand tightly grasping the armor on his shoulder. "There isn't much pride and dignity I have left to give, Obi-Wan...I won't allow them to take Mandalore from me."

"But you aren't yet ready to fight," he said softly, his finger slowly tracing her jaw as she shook her head.

"We aren't ready because you aren't ready," she said sharply. "Mandalore on its own cannot beat back an entire Empire. We need open war, we need them spread thin and fighting everywhere to have a chance. We need your rebellion. A single flame is easily put out, but together, we are wildfire. They won't be able to contain it all."

"They will if they have the tools to do it," Obi-Wan said, his voice lowering to a soft growl as he pulled her even closer. "The Inquisitors, the secret project, kriffing Thrawn. We may have an army of Force sensitives, Bo, but drop Vader or Maul among them, and they will die. They are young, and they have no chance when standing against the Sith."

"Do any of us but you?" she grumbled, and with a sigh, Obi-Wan shook his head.

"No, I suppose not."

"It seems to me your path is clearly laid out before you," Bo-Katan said. "Cripple the Empire in whatever ways you can before we are forced into open warfare. Everyone knows you've been killing Inquisitors, and knowing you, you'll be done with them soon enough, which only leaves this secret project and Thrawn."

"I am slowly drawing closer to Thrawn," he whispered, his hand tightening around her hip, his shoulders tense with frustration. "He is elusive, but we have been dancing around each other for too long. The day we engage is fast approaching, and when it does, he will be mine."

"Just take care you don't end up walking into one of his traps," she cautioned. "I've met Thrawn. I don't understand how he thinks, but he sees things others do not. He draws the truth out of brush strokes and lines, an entire history laid out before him when the rest of us merely see an image."

"You've met him..." Obi-Wan mumbled, slowly taking off his helmet and placing it down on one of the crates beside him, his eyes searching her face as she breathlessly reached up and stroked his cheek, the slightest gasp in her throat when she saw his face for the first time in years, just as she remembered it, felt the warmth of his skin beneath her fingertips and shivered when he brought his fingers to her temple. "May I?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper, and the Mandalorian nodded, biting down on her lip as she grabbed on tightly to his sides to brace herself.

Once, long ago, she had bore witness to the Sith Lord's savaging of Pre Vizsla, the leader of the Death Watch back at the start of the Clone Wars. Without even touching him, Obi-Wan had forced the man to his knees, had used the powers he commanded to violently enter his mind and wrack the man with pain and agony so severe he was reduced to nothing but weakness, a blubbering, mentally broken man who begged for his life, for the pain to stop, and had offered up his honor in the form of the Darksaber to placate his tormentor. Bo-Katan had been there, had felt the pain rush through her blood like star fire, had been unable to move her body, felt his invisible grasp constrict around her neck and lift her unbreathing from the ground, helpless to rush to Pre's aid and forced to watch the man who had been her first lover crumble into willing servitude. Obi-Wan had made her bow before him that day. He had made all Death Watch bow to him.

Bo-Katan thought it was fine. He was the stronger warrior, Mandalorian by association to her sister, even if she believed dear Satine at the time to be little more than an empty facsimile of a true Mandalorian, her lover had certainly shown himself to be a true warrior. When Pre Vizsla lay broken, Bo-Katan abandoned him and sought out Obi-Wan after she had assumed control of the Death Watch, knelt before him, and pledged herself to his service, and since then, she had not once looked back. So when Obi-Wan lay his fingers upon her head and asked for entry into her mind, she allowed it and braced herself for the pain she knew he could inflict.

She was not expecting it to feel the way it did. There was no pain, as she had anticipated, but pressure upon her mind for just a moment before she felt it release, her entire body flooding with intense relaxation and the dull throb of satisfaction as she leaned against the Lord of the Sith. She could feel him, every movement, every wiggle of his fingers, every slight movement as tendrils of cold wrapped around her consciousness. Bo-Katan closed her eyes and leaned against him, shivering slightly as her memories flashed before her, the cold, dark observer in her mind carefully flipping through her every thought, every feeling, every experience, little more than a casual glance before he moved on.

It was...intimate. In a way that the fierce Mandalorian had never experienced before. Bo-Katan had many lovers in her life. Some for a single night before battle, others longer term affairs born from a clash for dominance that always ended when Bo-Katan invariable tamed her partner and lost interest, the domesticated animal holding no fascination for her when she craved the wild and feral. But her relationships never consisted of this, exposing what lay beneath the hard exterior life had forged around her, and though she hated how weak it made her feel, she couldn't' find it in her to struggle against Obi-Wan.

She found herself calling to mind her one telling encounter with Thrawn when he had come to her in her palace, when he had spoken to her in Mando'a and expressed not just interest in her culture, but complete understanding. The Chiss had said he had been studying Mandalore for some time before then, had correctly related the Mandalorian mentality to the Sith, had spoken at great length to her about Obi-Wan and her sister. She could feel the man that held her tense, the memory slowing as the Sith Lord focused on the Chiss, the way he looked, the sound of his voice, his mannerisms, less on what he said and how he said it. The man within her mind felt like a predator finally catching sight of the prey he had been tirelessly stalking, the thrill of the hunt and the pure euphoria of the moments before the kill flooding her senses and leaving her shaking as she clung to him.

"My Mand'alor..." Obi-Wan drawled in her ear, the woman groaning in protest as she felt the Sith's shadowy grasp withdraw from her mind. "It was a mistake not to have you by my side sooner..."

"But we can't, not yet..." she whispered, an irritated scowl on her face as she looked up at him, the clear edge of want and longing in the sliver of green that encircled her dilated pupil. "There's too much to be done first, and we need to get your rebels back to your fleet..." She slid her hands up into his hair, her thumb running across his cheek. "But when we're ready, when you call for Mandalore to stand beside you, I will be there and I will never leave."

"We'll build the new Empire together, Bo-Katan..." Obi-Wan whispered, his fingers tucked under her chin. "You and me, the Mand'alor and the Lord of the Sith, ruling the Mandalorian Empire, just as Satine and I started so long ago..."

With a deep growl as desire and ambition rushed through her, Bo-Katan grabbed hold of Kenobi's shoulders and slammed him back against the wall, standing up on her toes to roughly claim his lips. Obi-Wan returned the fierceness of the gesture without hesitation, his hand tightening in her hair as the two struggled for domination, and neither of them willing to yield. Something broke within them, something that had been unspoken between them for years, that had gone so long unfulfilled and slowly built in the absence of each other, and now they fought as if to make up for all the time they had lost. Neither was sure of who began fumbling for the straps of each other's armor first, but they almost frantically fought to tear it off between rough, claiming kisses that showed no sign of stopping.

---

"Hey, Kanan?" Sabine lazily drawled, her mouth pressed together in a thin line as she stared at the flat, gray wall before her. "This sucks."

She wasn't wrong about that, Kanan thought with a sigh as he stared at an equally plain, dark wall, the room devoid of anything but themselves, their wrists bound behind them and the two of them tied together back to back to make movement more difficult. Their weapons had been taken away, and with Sabine's bombs diffused, the prospects of stealing a ship and flying to safety seemed impossibly grim, especially when even Hera had fallen before the Protectors of Concord Dawn.

"Of all the people, of all the Imperial filth that had to be here," Sabine bemoaned, "why, why did it have to be kriffing Bo-Katan Kryze." She laughed bitterly and shook her head, staring at her helmet in the corner that had been casually tossed inside with them. "So much for Kenobi's alliance, it's obvious where she stands..."

"I'll admit it seems like a bit of a dead end..." Kanan grumbled. "...it sounded like you two have a history," the Jedi said, slow and measured, and the teenager behind him tensed against her restraints. She was silent for a while, her breath coming in short, angry puffs, but Kanan patiently waited, knowing that no matter what it was that Sabine was hiding, the silence and the dire circumstances they found themselves in would prompt the restless girl into speaking at least some of the truth he sought.

"My mother and the Moff..." she spat in disgust. "They grew up together. They fought on the losing side of the Clan Wars back when they were even younger than me. Against Bo-Katan's own sister, no less. When Satine took control, my mother and Bo-Katan and the rest of the Death Watch were exiled to Concordia, and they grew strong there, waiting for a chance to take Mandalore back from the peaceful New Mandalorians." Sabine took a deep, heavy breath, her back straightening against Kanan's. "And then came Obi-Wan Kenobi. The Duchess' Jedi protector, and he forced the Death Watch to kneel."

"What, just like that?" Kanan asked, looking over his shoulder and catching the gradient blues and orange of Sabine's hair in his periphery. "That's not the work of a Jedi, that sounds like a Sith Lord. It couldn't have been so simple otherwise."

"I honestly don't know," Sabine said with a shrug. "Mother never spoke about it much. What she did say was that the Shadow King rose at Satine's side, and the Mandalorian Empire was born. Death Watch pledged themselves to the new strength on the throne and the rest..." She moved her arm as if to gesture, and frowned when she strained against her bindings. "You know the rest of the story. Satine died, the Shadow King disappeared with the fall of our night, and Bo-Katan took over and handed Mandalore over to the Galactic Empire when she feared she may lose her position." Sabine sneered in disgust. "A vile, duplicitous woman. She says to follow the Resol'nare, but she is a living affront to it! She stood against her own sister, she handed Mandalore over to the Empire just to keep her power, she turns against all those that stand in her way, just as she's turned against Obi-Wan now! If she was even with him to begin with...it's so like her to seek revenge for what Obi-Wan did to Death Watch, both during the Clan Wars and again in the Clone Wars."

"I confess, if she is with us, she's putting on a hell of an act..." Kanan whispered. "Maybe there are things at work that we aren't aware of, but you're right. We can't trust her in the hopes that she may be with us when it's very likely she isn't."

"And my family stands with her," Sabine spat bitterly. "When I realized what the Empire was, when I left the academy...my mother sided with Bo-Katan over me, she..." She bit down on her lip. "Look, it doesn't matter why..." Sabine muttered. "I grew up hearing about the Shadow King, how he was idolized, how we followed him to victory and glory. Is it so strange that I would grow to detest the one who gave Mandalore away when I was given an example of true strength to aspire to?"

"No, I suppose not."

"And my family blamed me, they..." Sabine sighed heavily. "It doesn't matter. All that matters is that my family betrayed me, and I can never go home because of that cutthroat bitch!" she shouted at the locked door, and the wall reverberated with sound as an armored hand struck it on the other side, followed by the swift, harshly barked command in Mando'a. "...well, the guard's still there."

"Let's be glad he is, we're going to need him to get out," Kanan said as he wriggled, turning them so he could look at the door. "We're going to need to get him in here, I've got a plan."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Sabine said with a grin. "Let's do this."

With a deep, calming breath, Kanan closed his eyes to still his heart and touched the Force, opening his eyes only when he felt focused and centered, and he fixed his gaze on Sabine's helmet, the painted armor rising into the air to gently float toward them. When the helmet had drifted close enough, Sabine twisted her body, sending Kanan pitching sideways as she slammed her foot against the helmet and kicked it toward the door. It struck the wall just beside her target with a resounding clang, earning them a cascade of shouting and cursing form the guard outside, and as Kanan righted them, Sabine shouted back, with what, Kanan did not know, but he was certain it was both disrespectful and filthy.

Metal scraped against metal outside the room, the door groaning as the lock disengaged and the door flew open, a very angry Mandalorian Protector striding quickly into the room brandishing his blaster in his hands and shouting at the top of his lungs at the defiant Sabine. With a deep, calming breath, Kanan looked up at the man looming over them, his gaze fixed on the man's face, and when the soldier saw the Jedi staring, he sneered, pointed the blaster at Kanan's head."

"You will drop your weapon," Kanan said flatly, his voice calm and expressionless, and with a shudder, the Mandalorian's shoulders tensed for just a moment before they went slack, the blaster dropping from his grasp as he mindlessly repeated the words Kanan had spoken. "You will release our restraints and leave this place to go drinking in celebration of your victory over the rebels." Behind him, Sabine snorted, but the man did as he was told, bending down to free the captive rebels before he ambled out of the room, the cool breeze outside blowing in and circulating the stale, heavy air. Neither Sabine nor Kanan dared to move for a long while, listening for the sounds of the soldiers outside, but they couldn't hear anything.

"Where did you learn how to do that?" Sabine hissed as she scooped up her helmet and the soldier's discarded blaster, hanging behind the Jedi as he cautiously leaned out the doorway and scanned the area. "I mean, I knew you could do that, but I didn't know you could do it like that."

"As it so happens, my current teacher is the authority on mind control," Kanan said with a shrug. "I've gotten significantly better at it." Kanan ducked back into the room and pressed himself up against the walls. "I should have made the guard leave us his armor..."

"The others would immediately know something's up if that happened," Sabine said firmly. "A Mandalorian doesn't just walk around without their armor. Why?" she whispered with a frown. "Are there a lot of guards out there?"

"Yeah, but nothing substantial around here, they're all out by the ships..." Kanan muttered. "Getting off this kriffing rock is going to be a nightmare..."

"If there aren't many guards around here, let's see if we can find something useful in these storage sheds," Sabine said, and Kanan flashed her a wide, mischievous grin.

"I was about to say the exact same thing." Gesturing for her to follow, the two of them snuck out of the building, closing and locking the door behind them ans keeping close to the walls and behind cover as they went. Occasionally, they would have to duck out of the way to avoid roving guards, though they were few and far between. They grew more and more frustrated as they slunk around the buildings, slowly drifting toward the back out of the sight of the Mandalorians as they found most of the buildings locked with secure codes that were too much trouble to work past. The ones that were open were either completely empty, or contained crates that were filled with rations, but no weapons or anything that could be of any use in an escape.

Kanan stopped Sabine quickly when he heard something bang against a one of the buildings they were headed toward, and when nobody emerged, the two slowly crept closer, Sabine keeping the blaster tight in her grasp. As they drew near, they could hear shuffling from behind the small warehouse, followed by a sharp gasp and hushed, indistinct whispers, and a slow, wide grin spread across Sabine's face when a deep growl was followed by a soft moan, and pressing herself against the building, she inched her way along the wall with the equally curious Kanan at her side. When they had come close enough, Sabine and Kanan slowly leaned out to peek around the corner and they froze, eyes wide and jaws slack.

There, pressed up against the wall of the building, was Obi-Wan Kenobi, stripped to the waist and breath reduced to hard, fast panting, his armor carelessly scattered on the ground around him. In his arms was an equally disheveled Bo-Katan, the woman heatedly exchanging deep, passionate, nearly violent kisses with the Sith Lord as she struggled to remove the remainder of the armor at his hips and legs. Kenobi's hands slid beneath the skintight long sleeved compression shirt the Moff wore, pushing it up to reveal pale skin and a flat, well defined stomach as he pulled loose her last remaining pauldron and allowed it to drop to lay at her feet with the rest of her armor he had divested her of, which put her nearly even with the half naked Sith. With a vicious snarl, Obi-Wan pressed back against her, pushing off the wall and pulling her close, revealing long, red lines from where the woman's fingers had raked against his skin to accompany the numerous red bite marks on his neck and chest.

Sabine couldn't move. She couldn't even breathe.

"Are you kriffing kidding me?!" Kanan hissed, drawing the attention of the Sith Lord and the Mand'alore, and with a deep, frustrated groan, Obi-Wan fell back against the wall, his head hitting the surface with a resounding thud. "We're trapped down here, and you're out here fraternizing with the enemy instead of saving us?!"

"Well not anymore..." Obi-Wan growled, shooting the Jedi a vicious glare that Kanan initially recoiled from, but quickly returned.

"Oh, no, you don't get to look at me like that!" Kanan growled, grabbing Sabine by the arm and pulling the stunned girl around the crates to stand behind the cover that the two lovers were taking advantage of.

"Of course I do!" Obi-Wan countered between clenched teeth. "I told you to turn back, I told you not to get involved with the Mandalorians!"

"You don't command me, Kenobi!"

"Well maybe I should."

"Alright, stop," Bo-Katan snapped, placing her hand on Obi-Wan's face and shoving him back against the wall. "Nobody here is impressed by your male posturing, you Jedi idiots!"

"I am not a Jedi..." Obi-Wan grumbled, but fell silent when the Mand'alor pointed a menacing, warning finger at him. "You were in no danger, Kanan..." Obi-Wan said tiredly, his hand running down his face as he took deep, calming breaths to regain the control that he had so willingly lost. "Bo told me you were here, we had a plan to return you to Phoenix Squadron."

"Oh, excellent," Kanan casually drawled. "And that plan involved having sex against a wall, now did it?!"

"Well..."

"The plan involved transferring you to Mandalore and allowing Kenobi to escape with you en route, all the while maintaining my cover" Bo-Katan said softly. "I don't think I need to tell you that this is made suitably more difficult if you aren't my prisoner." She tilted her head and observed the Jedi carefully. "I thought you knew that Obi-Wan will always come for you."

"You're an ally..." Sabine finally managed to gasp, her entire body shaking as she watched the Moff scoop up her armor, place it on a crate, and slowly begin to put it back on. "I know Kenobi said...b-but I didn't actually believe-"

"He is the man my sister chose to rule Mandalore beside her," Bo-Katan said somberly. "He is family, and family comes before all else."

With a soft, pitiful whimper, Sabine sunk to the ground, grateful for the cover her helmet provided, and silently cried. "You...aren't Imperial."

"Of course I'm Imperial..." Bo-Katan scoffed. "But my empire is Mandalorian."

"A-and my mother..."

"Misses you," Bo-Katan said swiftly. "Every single day, she misses you. And before you go getting sentimental, no, she hasn't forgiven you for running away the way you did. She thought you were smarter than that."

"A-are you kidding me?!" Sabine choked, staring wide-eyed at the harsh, indifferent Mand'alor. "Did she expect me to stay and just do what the Empire told me to?!"

"Yes," Bo-Katan said, crossing her arms over her chest. "We have all made sacrifices for staying safe under Imperial rule while we gather our strength. All of us. To pass off your burden to your family because you were unwilling to do what needed to be done is selfish."

"I didn't know!"

"No, how could you?" Bo-Katan snapped. "You never asked!" The Moff gave a tired sigh and pulled tight the strap on her breastplate. "Sabine Wren. I was there on the day of your birth, and I watched you and your brother grow up. You should have trusted me."

"How could I when you supported all the things the Empire has done, all the things they made me do..." Sabine whispered, but the edge of anger had left her voice as she became more thoughtful. Bo-Katan laughed bitterly.

"As I said, Sabine, we have all had to make sacrifices..." the Moff whispered. "The things I have had to do for the likes of Wilhuff Tarkin for the good of Mandalore..." She shook her head and growled, snatching her helmet from the crate and slamming it on her head. "None of that matters now, what's done is done."

"You'll help us, then?" Kanan asked hopefully, and the woman crossed her arms over her chest.

"As always, I will do what I can, when I can, until the day we're ready to fight. Today, that means helping you return to your fleet." She snatched the pieces of Kanan's lightsaber off her belt and held them in her hands as she pointed an accusing finger at the Jedi. "Don't get used to it. Next time, what's best for Mandalore may mean leaving you to the Imperials. I worked too hard and come too far to see myself exposed to them, and I must keep my cover. The information I get is far, far too valuable to be sacrificed to cover for your stupid decisions."

"Noted, Ma'am," Kanan said as he saluted, and he caught the two pieces of his lightsaber when Bo-Katan tossed them back to him. "So...about those hyperspace lanes through the system..."

"You know, not knowing when to quit is what got you into this mess, Jedi," Bo-Katan snapped, shoving Kanan toward Sabine. "Did you listen to a word I said? No, you don't get passage through the system, I can't afford to have you here! You get to go back to your rebellion. You should be grateful you even get that."

"We're absolutely not complaining about that," Kanan said with a smirk as he slowly lowered himself to his knees and pulled Sabine down with him, his hands behind his head. "I suppose we're at your mercy, Moff Kryze."

"I hate you so much, Kanan..." Obi-Wan growled between clenched teeth as the Mand'alor once again secured binders to the rebels' wrists. "I should have been at her mercy right now..."

"I certainly like to think so, but that's up for debate," Bo-Katan drawled as she checked the bindings on her captives to be certain they were tight and properly secured. "But there aren't many men that put up the fight you do. I fear we may simply ensure each other's destruction."

"And what a beautiful thing that is..." Obi-Wan drawled as he turned furious eyes on Kanan and smacked him upside the head. "You idiot. Look what you're keeping me from because you can't listen!"

"I've never been good at following directions," Kanan said with a shrug, wincing slightly as Bo-Katan dragged him up to his feet.

"We'll see how quickly you change your tune," Obi-Wan growled as he pulled his compression shirt over his head and furiously thrust his arms through the sleeves. "Every single time you have a moment alone with Hera, I will be there. The moment I feel your desire for her rising in the Force, Kanan Jarrus, I will be at your side."

Kanan laughed, light and easy at first, but quickly becoming more nervous. "...but not really, right?"

"No, really, you're never going to have sex again." He stopped when Bo-Katan's gloved hand slowly caressed his cheek, and with a possessive growl, he kissed her palm.

"When next we meet, Obi-Wan, we'll see about picking up where we left off," she said softly, a teasing, promising lilt to her voice that even the helmet's modulator couldn't filter out. "In the meantime, though, I'll see to sending Fulcrum alternate routes that won't draw attention to me. It's not what your pilot wants, I'm sure, but it's better than nothing. Consider it...an apology for what happened to her."

"Apology accepted, Mand'alor," Obi-Wan said with an incline of his head. "It's much appreciated."

"I need to get this rebel filth back to the main camp so I can yell at my men," Bo-Katan said, giving Kanan and Sabine a rough shove. "I'll have them on a ship within the hour. Make sure you're on board so you can return them to their fleet."

"My thanks, Bo-Katan."

The Moff hesitated for a moment, torn between pushing the rebels out from behind cover and raising hell, and returning to the Sith Lord that she had missed. She finally settled on laying her hand on Obi-Wan's chest and lightly drawing her fingers along the long, black scar that crossed his skin beneath the compression shirt. "It was...good to see you again, Kenobi. Our next meeting will not take so very long."

"It will be unbearable none the less," Obi-Wan said softly, and with a gently, affectionate pat, Bo-Katan pushed the rebels out and walked away from the Lord of the Sith. "So close..." Obi-Wan muttered ad he began almost petulantly strapping on his armor. "So kriffing close."