Chapter 5: Delusions of a Dreamer
To say that he was exhausted, was an understatement. Anakin and Padme had literally attempted to squeeze every tiny bit of information out of him about his relationship with Satine. In an act of self-defense Obi-Wan had looked a little too deep into his glass of whiskey. Which he regretted now.
Obi-Wan rubbed his eyes and tried to stretch his legs in the cramped star fighter. His head pounded like someone had placed a well-aimed punch right between his eyes. `Damn it Anakin, why is it that I always seem to drink too much when I spend time with you? '
The flight to Mandalore was long and the jedi master had tried to sleep a little. Only the beeping sound from his astromech R4 ripped him from his unrestful slumber, telling him that he had arrived in Mandalores' atmosphere and the authorities were requesting authentication. He took a moment to compose himself before he answered.
"This is jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi, I have an appointment with the duchess."
"Understood, land in bay 5, there will be a transport waiting for you." Obi-Wan let out a breath and steered his vehicle towards the assigned landing platform. Glancing out of the viewport he took in the sight of the city of Sundari. It had been years since he had been here. After landing his fighter, the jedi master climbed out of the cockpit. His leg hurt after the long flight, but he refrained from using his crutches while he met with Satine. Still they were safely tucked away in his ship in case of emergency. He would walk with a rather significant limp but it was still better than to rely on the crutches and appear like an invalid. The jedi hoped that the Force would provide him with the necessary support.
Obi-Wan turned away from his star fighter and made his way over to the transport that would take him to the palace. He was greeted by a palace guard who wore a set of blue Mandalorian armor. The colors of Clan Kryze.
"Are you the jedi?", asked the guard with a distorted voice. It was clear that the man behind the helmet held a grudge against his kind, he didn't need the force to tell him that. 'Still no hospitality for the jedi', thought Obi-Wan. Not wanting to cause a scene, he swallowed his pride and answered with a slight bow.
"I am Obi-Wan Kenobi, on behalf of the jedi council."
"Very well, follow me." The man turned around and stepped towards the transport platform. Obi-Wan tried to keep pace while doing his best to suppress his limp. He was grateful for the brace Master Che had fitted for him, because he wouldn't have been able to even walk a few meters without his knee giving out under him. Steadying his breath, he released the pain, which seared through his body like a flash everytime he took a step, into the force.
The transport lifted up and Obi-Wan was taken through a gigantic travel system, which led directly to the palace. After a short flight they descended from the platform and the guard led him into the throne room. The jedi master felt his nervousness prickling underneath his skin, as he caught sight of the duchess standing on the other side of the room. She still hadn't noticed their approach and was looking out of one of the big, colored windows, back turned towards them.
The guard cleared his throat and spoke: "Duchess, jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi is here for the meeting."
There was a slight nod from Satine, she didn't turn around. "You may leave us alone."
The guard seemed to want to object but refrained from it. While turning around he shot a rather venomous glare towards the jedi.
After the guards left, Obi-Wan approached the podest with the throne and Satine turned around.
It had been years since they had seen each other in person. As Satine descended the steps from her throne, she took in the sight of her dear friend and partner. The time had not been kind to him, he had a fresh, nasty looking scar on his head now, his left ear missing. 'He lied when he told me that he was fine' she mused.
She took the last few steps in a swift motion and smiled at him. She pulled him into a hug which he reluctantly returned. "Obi-Wan, it's been a long time." Carefully she reached up to caress the scar on the left side of his face. He flinched a little at the touch but didn't pull away. Satine turned her eyes from the scar to meet his gaze. "My gosh, what happened?"
Obi-Wan reached up, to slowly pull her hand away from his face. He smiled sadly. "Remember when I told you about Grievous, the cyborg general?"
As if she could ever forget that name. Satine had seen the pictures of destruction on the HoloNet. They called him the 'jedi killer'. Slaughtering padawans and masters alike. It made her feel angry that this monster was still roaming the galaxy.
"Satine, you alright?"
Her train of thought was interrupted by Obi-Wans' voice. He was sporting that look of concern again that she had seen so often back when they were on the run together with Master Jinn. Satine shook her head.
"Sorry, I must have drifted off. It's just... I can't believe the toll the war is taking from all of you."
Obi-Wan averted his gaze. "Satine, it's my duty to protect the innocents."
"But when did the jedi, the peacekeepers, turn into generals leading soldiers into battle?"
It felt like all the calm her partner had gathered was swept away from him in an instant. Like something snapped inside of him. He gritted his teeth and nearly hissed. "So what? You want us to back off? Let the Separatists continue their path of destruction? Let planets fall under their wrath? I thought you understood, Satine. That we tried the other ways. We didn't choose this war."
He turned to look at her again, his eyes glassy und voice nearly a whisper. "Every day I ask myself what the point of this insanity is. And yet I make myself go on, in the hope that someday there will be a way out for all of us. Believe me, I'm tired of burying the people I care about."
Satine didn't know what to say. It wasn't her intention to hurt Obi-Wan. And yet she clearly did. "Obi, I…"
He shook his head, looking lost. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lashed out at you. I- I think I need to go out for a moment and catch a breath." Her friend turned around and started to leave. Satine thought about stopping or following him, but she held back. 'I don't think I would do him any good right now.'
She watched him heading for the door, only noticing now that he walked with a heavy limp. There was a brace strapped to his right leg, which seemed to be the only thing keeping him upright at the moment. Satine remembered the once so joyful young man who always managed to put a smile on her face. It felt like only the outer shell of him had remained over the time. He was scarred and damaged not just physically but also mentally.
Still eyeing his retreating form, she mumbled to herself: "I should have been there for you. I'm so sorry, Obi."
As Obi-Wan exited the throne room, he was met with the sight of a large park planted with colorful flowers and trees. People were taking a walk or chatting on one of the many benches placed along the paths. Still the peaceful atmosphere couldn't ease the jedis' mind. He made his way over to the balcony which separated the park from the other city platforms. Obi-Wan braced his forearms against the railing and examined the stories below. Somehow Sundari reminded him of a smaller, less industrialized version of Coruscant. 'Maybe I should have left the order and stayed with Satine when I had the chance.' Their reunion hadn't gone the way he imagined and now he wasn't even sure that he wanted to step under her eyes again. After all these years they still had their differences but somehow finding out that one of the few people he cared about didn't understand his actions, felt like someone ripped the ground from under his feet. Satine may be a pacifist but that shouldn't keep her from seeing that the jedi weren't the aggressors in this war.
Obi-Wan let his gaze wander to the sky, observing the blue horizon and the spaceships which entered or left Mandalores' atmosphere. He closed his eyes and tried to center himself again. But his peace of mind wouldn't return to him easily.
"I thought you had a meeting with the duchess?"
His eyes snapped open and Obi-Wan whirled around, lost in his thoughts he hadn't sensed the persons' approach. "Excuse me?"
It was that guard he met before. Something in the back of his mind told him that the man in front of him was playing a wrong game. His aura unnerved him but Obi-Wan couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.
The man stepped closer. "What I meant is, that it is irresponsible to leave the duchess alone. You wouldn't want something happening to her, do you?"
Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes and grabbed the hilt of his lightsaber. "Who are you and what do you want?"
The Mandalorian chuckled and started pacing in front of him. "You see, jedi, you always claim to be the peace keepers, but look who's the one with his hand on a weapon. One might mistake you for one of us if you weren't wielding that sword and wearing these robes." The man stopped and turned his head towards the jedi. Even though the helmet covered the guards' face, Obi-Wan could tell that the man was grinning and staring him in the eyes. "You're not that different from of us."
The guard took a step towards Obi-Wan, so they were almost face to face. "And to answer your questions… we're the Death Watch. And about what we want... I think actions speak louder than words."
It all happened in a split second. First the Mandalorian pulled something from his belt that Obi-Wan hadn't noticed before. A detonator. He made a move to stop the man from pushing the button but it was already too late.
The next thing he knew was that he was sent flying, something shattered behind his back which he realized later, was the glass railing of the balcony. While he toppled over the edge of the platform, he caught a glimpse of the scene. Smoke filled the air and he could hear people screaming. The whole park had been blown up by a bomb.
Given the situation at hand, he had no time to access the scenario as he began to fall towards the stories below. If he wanted to have a chance to survive, he had to use the force to slow his freefall. The drop was about ten stories deep, so there was no way he would remain unscathed. Obi-Wan called upon the force and braced himself for the impact. 'I am one with the Force and the Force is with me.'
The force responded to his plea but the landing was hard. He touched down with his feet first and rolled over his shoulder a few times before he came to a halt. His already mangled leg was screaming in agony and he was pretty sure something snapped when he made contact with the ground. He could deem himself lucky that this was the only thing he broke due to the fall. Obi-Wan could already feel the bruises forming all over his body but he could handle that. He had to find out more about the Death Watch, the bombing and return to Satine as fast as possible.
As he struggled to stand up, he became aware of a barrel of a gun pressed between his shoulders.
"You're coming with us, jedi." The trigger was pulled and the shot rang out.