Chapter 8: Dusk before Dawn
So much for their planned escape. Satine turned her eyes from Vizsla to Obi-Wan, who was still leaning on her, for a second. Despite being covered in sweat, he was shivering fiercely. 'Maybe we should have looked for some clothes.' The bandage around his shoulder was soaked through with blood and Satine could tell it was taking him a lot of strength to remain conscious. But nevertheless, he was holding up and was staring daggers into Vizsla.
The governor took a step towards the pair and spoke up again:
"For generations, the Mandalorians fought with pride against the jedi", Vizsla pulled something from his belt, while advancing further, "but you, you dishonor our legacy with your pacifism." He made a pause and grinned maniously, before lifting the hilt in his hand and speaking again. "This weapon was taken from the jedi temple decades ago. Many jedi have fallen through this blade", he shot a glance at Obi-Wan, then his eyes returned to her, "and now it shall relinquish Mandalore to its old glory by ending your reign."
With a roar, Vizsla activated the weapon and a black blade snapped to life. Not wasting a second, he threw himself at Satine.
It happened to fast for Satine's eyes to follow properly. She felt Obi-Wan shift next to her as the black blade came soaring towards her. The next thing she saw was, that the jedi had pushed himself of her shoulders and had called his weapon from her sleeve into his hand. Vizsla and him were standing merely a few inches apart, black and blue blade interlocked between them. He had pushed her behind him in the process. She could see that he had put most of his weight on his left leg and was holding Vizsla miraculously at bay with only one hand on his weapon.
Clenching his teeth, Obi-Wan made Vizsla stumble backwards and then fly towards his troops with a Force push. Two guards caught the men and helped him stand up again.
She heard the clicking sound of blasters and saw that the rest of them took aim. Vizslas' hand stopped them. The governor had composed himself and was boiling with anger. "Stop. This is between me and him. Let that cripple defend her if he can", he snarled.
Satines' head snapped towards the jedi. "Obi-Wan, no! This is insane", she hissed.
Her friend didn't look at her, but growled with a deep voice: "Let him try. As long as I'm standing, he won't lay a hand on you."
He knew that Satine was right. His strength was leaving him. In addition to the pain, the blood loss was starting to take its toll. Obi-Wan took an unsteady step towards his enemy, careful not to jostle his knee and shoulder further, and took his stance oppose to Vizsla. Thinking about it, he freed his left arm from his chest. The movement hurt like hell, but if he wanted to have a chance, he needed both of his arms free. Obi-Wan took a deep breath. 'I haven't done this in a long time.'
Not since his fight with Maul in the reactor room on Naboo.
He hadn't been strong enough then.
But he had to be now, against all odds.
The jedi threw himself into the Force, his body becoming its vessel. Blue-grey eyes closed. His mind disconnected from the surrounding world, from his worn-down, physical presence and only focused on the target at hand.
Protecting Satine. Defeat Vizsla.
He could feel her presence behind him, a gleaming blue, strong beacon in the Force.
Before him was Vizsla. Red surrounded him, tainted with black streaks.
Lifting his lightsaber in the Soresu opening stance, he motioned for Vizsla to come at him. "Come now, governor, the cripple is waiting", he mocked.
Fear flashed over Vizslas' face for a second as he saw the jedi move like a possessed man. The previous weakness was gone and before him stood a battle-hardened warrior. "This is your downfall, jedi", the governor snarled. He lunged again.
Obi-Wan smirked. He could read Vizsla like an open book.
High swing from the right. Followed by a kick towards the opponents' knee.
Letting the man come close, Obi-Wan side-stepped just in time to avoid the attack. He was now standing behind the governor. Using the pummel of his lightsaber, he punched him in the back of his head.
Vizsla let out a pained cry and stumbled, but he regained his footing fast. He whirled around and swung again at Obi-Wan. The jedi dived low in response and made a grab for the governors' forearm. Twisting it, Obi-Wan turned and pulled the arm over his shoulder. The elbow popped out of its socket with a satisfying crack, as the jedi yanked the arm down. The Death Watch leader roared in pain and furiously tried to stab Obi-Wan with the darksaber from behind.
The Force guided the jedis' body again, so that he barely avoided the black blade.
The jedi parried the blade and the two kept exchanging blows. If one was to observe the fight in the Force, it would show two souls intertwined into a life-deciding dance. One bound by his believes and twisted by his ideology, the other rooted in his faith and torn by loss and hate.
Vizsla always stayed close to Obi-Wan, not giving him much space or openings. A few minutes later they found themselves in a saberlock. Their faces right in front of each other, Vizsla spoke up again. "You can't keep this up forever, Kenobi. Sooner or later your mighty Force will leave you."
Obi-Wan cracked a laugh and gave the governor a wicked smile. "See you in hell then, Vizsla."
Dark grey eyes opened again. With force-enhanced power he drove him backwards, his lightsaber slamming down on the man with inhuman speed. There. An opening. The blue blade slipped past Vizslas' defense, cutting into his left thigh.
Vizsla dropped the darksaber and crumbled to the ground in pain. Obi-Wan stepped forward and held his lightsaber under the mans' chin. "Surrender."
The governor huffed. "Never. Guards, finish them!"
Snapping his head to the side, Obi-Wan saw how five guards fired with their rocket launchers. Two were flying towards Satine, three in his direction.
He deactivated his lightsaber and used both of his hand to manipulate the projectiles. The process was incredibly exhausting and the jedi felt his grasp on the Force slipping. His head started to hurt and his nose started bleeding. Obi-Wan turned the rockets towards the rock formations and then let them go. The explosion shattered the rocks' surface, making small boulders crumbling down.
Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Vizsla, supported by another guard, make his escape towards a speeder. Obi-Wan hadn't enough strength left to stop them. The ringing in his head intensified and the Force finally left his body. His broken knee gave out beneath him and he fell with a pained gasp. But before he could hit the ground, he felt small hands grasp on his right arm. Concerned crystal-blue eyes were searching his gaze. "Obi? Come on, stand up. We have to get you out of here." With surprising strength, only the desperate one could possess, she pulled him up and heaved his arm over her shoulders.
They somehow made the way over to Satines' ship and Obi-Wan let himself flop down into the co-pilots seat. He was vaguely aware of Satine steering the vehicle, before the exhaustion finally claimed him.
later
The cold was gone and the pain had lessened. It was still present, but it had dulled down to a mere throbbing. As Obi-Wan woke up, he realized that his wounds had been treated. The knee was in a cast again. He groaned inwardly. 'Not again.' His left arm had been placed in a sling. The bacta patches on his collar bone and shoulder told him that they had removed the shrapnel pieces and set the bones. Carefully he propped himself up on his elbow and examined the room. He expected to be in some kind of medical facility again, but was surprised to see that apparently that was not the case. 'These are someones' private rooms.'
Looking around once more, he realized that he was laying on the right side of a double bed. The left side was empty, but unmade. Someone must have been here recently. Obi-Wan chuckled. Of course. He was in Satines' quarters. 'She must be already up and about. Typical.' His gaze set on a pile of clothes on the edge of the bed. A plain white t-shirt and some light trousers. Realizing he was still just in his underwear, Obi-Wan grabbed the things. Putting on the trousers wasn't much of a problem, but the t-shirt was another thing. He slowly removed the sling and let his arm flop into his lap. The rather small movement stung and Obi-Wan felt his shoulder muscles twitch. Keeping his arm as steady as possible, he maneuvered it through the sleeve before pulling the rest over his head. After he had readjusted the sling, he swung his legs over the bed side. His foot made contact with something made out of metal. Leaning forwards, he realized that his crutches had been placed beside the bed. Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows. 'Someone must have gotten them from my ship.' He took some time before he moved from the bed. The dizziness hadn't faded completely and his muscles were stiff from laying still so long. 'I won't get any younger', he thought while rubbing his hurting back. Grabbing one crutch with his right hand, he finally stood up and made his way out of the bedroom.
As he stepped into the spacious living area, Obi-Wan still couldn't see a single soul.
"Satine?", he called out with a raspy voice. Surprised by his hoarseness, he cleared his throat. 'I must have been out for some time.'
A clattering sound could be heard from the refresher unit. Someone was moving around hectically before the door finally swooshed upon. Satine stepped out, dressed in a simple blue top and some short pants, her hair was kept together in a loose bun. Apparently, she had just woken up herself.
Obi-Wan was amused by the picture before him. "Did I disturb you?", he asked with a smile.
Satine was still staring at him like she had seen a ghost. After a few seconds she gathered her wits and quickly made her way over to Obi-Wan, throwing her arms around him. As she leaned her forehead against his chest, it was like a wall broke between them. Satine closed her eyes and started sobbing.
Obi-Wans' smile was swept from his face. He let his crutch drop to the floor and laid his arm around Satine, his hand cradling the scape of her neck. Leaning down, he let his chin connect with the top of her head softly. Still confused by her sudden outburst, he tried to soothe her with a calming voice. "Hey, it's okay. I'm here", he whispered.
The arms around him tightened for a moment, drawing a grunt from him as the pressure against his shoulder build up uncomfortable. Then she pushed back, her eyes were wide-open and filled with tears.
"Never scare me like that again", she hissed, her voice cracking.
Obi-Wans' mouth went dry as he was met with her piercing gaze. He tried to reach out to her but she took another step back. "Satine, I'm sorry", he tried. Fear was starting to grip his heart. 'I can't lose her. Not again.'
She shook her head, mouth pressed into a thin line. "You're sorry? Obi-Wan, I thought you were dying! You've been out for four weeks and you spent three of them in an artificial coma", her voice withdrew to a whisper, "as the medics tried to pull you back, you didn't show a sign of waking up. So, two days ago, I let them bring you here as you were physically stable."
Averting her gaze, she gave a broken laugh. "All I had to hold on was, that this mysterious Force of yours was keeping you from me. But I saw what you did while facing Vizsla. Do you have any idea, how hard it is, to believe in something you can't comprehend?"
The jedi took an unsteady step towards her. His eyes were glistening with tears. "What do you want me to say, Satine? All I did, was trying to protect you."
"So, what if you died there?", she snapped, "I can't lose you… I need you, Obi-Wan."
It was then that he finally closed the distance between them and Satine wasn't backing off again. He hugged her again tightly while speaking with a low voice.
"I won't make promises I cannot keep… But let me tell you one thing", he tilted his head so that their eyes met, his hand brushing one of her blonde locks from her face, "I will always love you, Satine and I'll be there when you need me."