Chapter 6: A new begining
AN: Hey guys, I know finally an update after two months, I have been busy so it took a while. I hope you enjoy it and feel free to leave a review.
"You really have interesting acquaintances Obi, I'm starting to think that all of them are of the criminal kind," Satine said sarcastically to the Jedi master who was sitting opposite of her in the Twilights cargo area, having some much-needed rest after their encounter with the galaxies most dangerous bounty hunter. Obi-Wan had his wound treated by the medical droid on the ship and his arm was currently in a sling to ease it until it properly heals, Satine herself had escaped with no injuries, but that was probably more to luck than anything else. The trip to Nar Shaddaa definitely wasn't what she had expected, she knew there was a possibility of something going awry, the place they went to wasn't exactly known for its hospitality and safety, but encountering someone who not only saw through their disguises so easily but also almost managed to kill them had worried her greatly. She feared the possibility of Maul finding out about their little venture to the smuggler's moon, Cad Bane might not know who she was but Maul most definitely would.
"Bane is not an acquaintance, he is a dangerous foe who works for the people like Dooku and the Hutts. He has killed a good number of Jedi since the war started and proceeds to elude us. The republic had put a sizeable bounty on his head but it seems no other bounty hunter is stupid enough to try and bring him in. I had plenty of encounters with him and every time he manages to slip away and returns to make things more difficult," Kenobi said with frustration. Their getaway from Nar Shaddaa was what he feared, although he had not even considered the possibility of Bane actually being there and immediately figuring them out. This all made him frustrated, they had almost botched the mission, almost lost what they came to the moon for, he was injured but he didn't really care about that, what mattered was that Satine could have gotten hurt as well or worse. If anything had happened to her while he was there, able to do something, he would have never forgiven himself. He feared what could have been and what could be now that Bane knows that he was on Nar Shadda, Maul will find out eventually and will put the pieces together. It was sheer luck and Satines quick thinking that got them out of there and the Jedi master knew that Bane will not let go of his defeat easily. He sighed and looked at Satine. "But that is not important now, what is important is that we were successful and that you got the beskar you need. Besides, it's always good to see Bane knocked down a peg or two."
Satine looked at Obi-Wan for a moment, her arms crossed over her chest, their eyes met and she looked away. "I'm sorry," she said in a low tone, remorse evident.
Kenobi blinked a few times in confusion. "Sorry, what for?"
"For getting hurt, that was not supposed to happen. If I went down there alone, you would have been fine," Satine said, angry at herself.
"Satine, I went there with you by my own accord, I went to help you. I know it didn't turn out like we planned but got through it. You can't blame yourself for what happened. I couldn't have known that Bane would be there and neither could you or anyone else," Kenobi said in a reassuring tone. Obi-Wan smiled slightly. "Ironically it was Anakin who thought me that no plan is perfect or foolproof, something which is out of your control is always going to happen, the best we can do is adapt and push through it. We made it out alive and that is what matters."
Satine was quiet for a moment until she let out a heavy sigh. "I know but I can't help it, I feel guilty for what happened. Ever since I lost Mandalore I feel like I have lost all semblance of control, that no matter what I do, it will always be for not. Even this, which was supposed to be a simple get-in and get out turned south when I least expected it. You getting hurt only made it worse."
"Satine, I'm a Jedi general, I'm used to being shot at, the force knows how many thousands of battle droids had tried to kill me so far and that number will only rise, "Obi-Wan said in a slight chicky tone but regretted it as this got a worried look out of Satine. "Sorry about that. What I'm trying to say is that you don't need to worry about me so much, I had been through worse. As soon as we reach the capital, I will be back to normal. It's just a flesh wound, nothing more."
His words did not make all the guilt and worry go away but they did ease Satines mind. She moved from her spot and sat next to him, leaned in, and lay her head on his healthy shoulder. "Thank you," she said simply, she did not need to say anything further.
"So what's our plan forward?" Kenobi asked.
"When we reach Coruscant, the forger Bo had brought along will forge me a new set of armor, after that, she and I will start to gather resources and people to retake Mandalore. There are plenty of Mandalorians out there and not all of the clans had bent the knee to Maul. The process will be slow but we will do it, we have to."
"And what about me?"
"You had already done so much for me, I could not possibly ask of you to fight any more of my battles for me."
"And what If I want to?" he said turning his head slightly to look at her.
"It will not look good for a leader of the Mandalorians to be seen with a Jedi by their side, Bo might have gotten past it but many of my people still remember the history between the Mandalorians and the Jedi. We have been enemies for far too long," Satine said. For a moment neither said anything, they both knew it was true. Satine always found it ironic that she fell for a Jedi.
"Maybe it's time for a change then. For the first time in history, Mandalore is ruled by a sith, maybe it's time for the Jedi and Mandalorians to put aside their differences and work together," Obi-Wan said. Satine wished that it was so easy, that it was true but she knew better.
"Easier said than done. My people are too proud and stubborn for their own good and you still have a war to fight in and an army to lead. You can't just abandon the republics war effort just so you could help me with mine. The senate nor the Jedi council will be willing to allow that, you are one of the best commanders they have."
"That might be true but I will still do everything in my power to help you, I will not leave you alone to fight a war if I can aid you in any way," Obi-Wan said. You should not need to pay for my mistakes he thought as he looked at her. Things would have been so much different if he stayed with her all those years ago.
"Thank you, for everything," she said as she lifted her head slightly and looked him in the eyes. She leaned forward and he reciprocated by leaning towards her. For a moment their lips met and all of Satine's worries evaporated, it was bliss. The romantic moment was broken when the doors of the cargo hold opened and in walked the second Krize sister, a frown adorned her face.
"You two really are acting like stupid teenagers," Bo said.
"You enjoy insulting me, don't you?" Satine said as she glared at her sister.
Bo shrugged. "A bit. But right now my anger at him overweighs my need to annoy you," She said pointing at Kenobi.
"Me? Why?" Kenobi exclaimed.
"You were supposed to make sure things went smoothly not attract one of galaxies deadliest killers. You were lucky that I arrived when I did because even with Bane knocked out the rest of the scum on that moon would have killed you for certain," Bo growled out. She was angry at the Jedi, she knew that her sister knew how to defend herself well enough but she still hadn't expected that Satine would be thrust into a fight so soon, Kenobi was supposed to be there to make sure that doesn't happen but instead he was the reason for it.
Satine got up to defend Obi-Wan. "It wasn't his fault, we knew that something might happen, we knew the risks when we agreed to come. Obi-Wan did his best, he got shot for goodness sake. Why are you pinning this on him?"
The two sisters stared each other down until Bo sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You are right, this wasn't his fault, not entirely at least," Bo begrudgingly admitted.
"So, how long until we reach Coruscant?"
"Four hours, so I suggest you get comfy," Bo said and proceeded to lay down on some crates, the autopilot was turned on so she didn't need to worry about flying the ship unless something in this bucket of bolts shortcircuits which wouldn't surprise her at all. "I suggest you use that time to think more about your armor design sister, it better be good."
Satine stared at her sister who had her eyes closed for a moment until she returned to Obi-Wan's side and proceeded to do exactly what Bo told her to do. There were many armor designs that popped up throughout Mandalorian history some better some worse but all actually provided a decent amount of protection. The most common variants were old crusader armor worn since the days of Mandalorian expansion, the classical one most Mandalorians use nowadays, stalker and hunter armors provided more maneuverability compared to the more heavy executioner or the technologically more equipped Powertech armor. There are a few more but almost all of them are some variation of the classical armor worn by Mandalorians. There was also the color of her armor to pick, the color of one's armor was important in Mandalorian culture because it signified something, it has a meaning which the wearer wants to show. Gray meant mourning a lost one, red honoring a parent, black is justice, gold was vengeance, purple was luck, brown meant valor, maroon was power, pink is respect, scarlet means defiance, yellow is remembrance, teal is healing, green meant duty, blue is reliability, silver means seeking redemption, orange is lust for life and white is a new start. Almost all of the colors could apply to her, she still mourned Korkie, she wanted to honor her parents, she wanted justice for her people and herself, she wanted vengeance against Maul, she had a duty to her people, she tried to be reliable, she did feel some lust for life, it wasn't extreme as some Mandalorians but it was there and she knew with the forging of her new armor she will be having a new start. She would have to think about it carefully.
The hours that it took to reach the galactic capitol passed uneventfully with Kenobi using the force to aid in his recovery, Satine deep in thought, and Bo casually talking to them or just resting. When they reached the planet they immediately went to where the Mandalorian ship had been docked. The three left Anakin's ship and walked over to where the rest of Bos crew were, they all greeted her as the three passed them, while giving Satine and Obi-wan either glare or a disinterested look. Bo, Satine, and Kenobi walked inside the ship until Bo stopped in front of a door from behind of which a sound of a hammer pounding against metal was heard. The doors opened and Bo entered the other two following her inside. The room which the forger occupied as his workshop had a large furnace in the middle with various tools some simple and some more advances scattered around. There were two tables at each side of the room with what looked to be armor and weapon designs. The forger paid them little heed as he worked on a piece of metal which they realized was a pauldron. The furnace kept the metal hot as the forger kept pommelling the strong metal into shape, the sound of metal hitting metal echoed throughout the room. When he was finally done, the forger used one of his tools to pick up the still hot pauldron and submerged it into the water to cool off. It was then that he looked up from his work and noticed the three guests.
"I was just doing some repairs on my own armor," he said and both Satine and Kenobi looked to the man's shoulder to see a pouldron missing. "What can I do for you?"
Bo presented the beksar to the forger. "We need you to make my sister a set of armor, there is plenty of beskar here so there is no need to be stingy with it."
The forger looked at the case containing beksar and then at Satine, before looking at Bo again.
"I'm going to need armor specifications and what weapons you wish to be incorporated into it. I'm assuming you wish something which will provide enough protection but let you keep as much maneuverability as possible," the forger said.
"Yes, I had discussed it with my sister and I know what I want out of my armor," Satine said.
"In that case you are free to leave, she will tell me what you desire and I will then commence with the task," the forger said. Satine was slightly insulted that the forger would rather talk about her armor with her sister than her but she understood Mandalorians still didn't trust her and that for that to happen it will take time. Bo looked at her apologetically and Satine nodded leaving the room with Obi-wan in tow. After they left the forger spoke again.
"Do you think it wise?"
"I honestly don't know, I can only hope," she replied. The young Mandalorian took a step forward.
"Why should we follow her, why should we even aid her in anything after all she had done?" the forger said, disdain evident in his voice. "You are a true Mandalorian, why wouldn't you lead us?"
Bo sighed. "I'm not cut out to be a leader we need, I have always been a warrior, I'm good at it. I can lead a team or a force in battle but I'm not a ruler like Satine is. Even with everything that had happened she had managed to keep a hold over Mandalore, if we had not brought Maul to her doorstep she would still be the duchess of Mandalore. She had always been raised to be a ruler and I was supposed to be her right hand. Things could have been so much different had I stayed with her," Bo looked at the forger who looked back, he had a frown under his helmet, he did particularly like the idea of the woman who had spent every waking moment of the last decade and a half destroying what made their people great, leading him or any of the other true Mandalorians. He had followed Vizla because the man promised to bring back the old way, the true ways of their culture. When Vizla fell to the sith he followed Bo because there was no way in hell he would bow down to a force-wielding maniac be him Jedi or Sith. And now the woman he looked up to says that our only hope is the woman who was the reason for their fight for restoration in the first place. At this point, he had no other choice than to trust Bo's judgment. All he wanted was to see Mandalore free and strong like it once was, like Mandalore from the stories his parents told him when he was younger.
"My father always said that there is nothing he can do to change the past but we can shape the future however we see fit. I might not trust her but I trust you and maybe in time I might get some semblance of trust in her. At least she is not denying what she is anymore, a bit hypocritical but better late than never."
"Yeah, she now seems a lot more like the sister I grew up with. It won't be easy by far but we will retake our home and Satine will be the one to lead us in retaking it, I believe it."
"Let's hope your belief is not misplaced," the forger said and turned around to where a table with some paper and pen was. "Anyway let's get that armor forged."
Days passed as the forger worked to make the armor he had been tasked with making. The ship rang with the noise of the forge working, of the hammer hitting metal, of water sizzling as hot metal was cooled off. The young man put all of his skill to the task, he might have been young by forger standards but he had been learning his craft since he was a boy and he knew what he was doing. Meanwhile, the Krize sisters and Kenobi had returned to senator Amidala's apartment to recuperate after their mission with Kenobi leaving for the Jedi temple whenever called for. Bo and Satine passed their time as best as they could, making plans for the future, training and entertaining the senator whose house they were currently staying at. When the armor was finally done, Bo had received a message from the forger, and Satine, Bo and Obi-Wan made their way to the docking yard. Satine had entered the forge to put on her armor while her sister and lover waited outside. When Satine finally emerged from the forge she entered the hallway dressed in full plate armor of Mandalorians. It was a Mandalorian hunter armor with an Owl-shaped helmet. Satines armor provided the protection seen in all standard suits with the chest, head, shoulders, lower arms and legs much like Bos, but it also offered more protection to her tights and upper arms. It was maneuverable so it allowed a great range of movement. On her forearms, there were vambraces that most Mandalorian warriors used. And the color of the armor was light blue, sky blue to be exact with black outlines. The area around the helmet's visor was painted white.
Kenobi was actually surprised to see Satine decked out in a full set of beskar armor so much that his eyes went wide while Bo looked on impressed with a slight bit of jealousy.
"Well, what do you think?" Satine asked.
"Looks good, you outdid yourself with this one Mathis," Bo said to the forger who joined them.
"I think it's some of my best work yet. The Beskar you provided was plenty enough for something like this and the vambraces have an energy shield and grappling line in the left one and a retractable wrist blade made from beskar with a few small darts in the right one. You can upgrade or change them if you see fit," the forger said with a hint of pride. For a moment no one did anything but look at the armor in awe.
"I like the color too," Bo said. "A lighter shade of blue, combining blue and white, reliability and a new start with some black, duty. Not bad sister, not bad."
"So what now?" Kenobi asked.
"Now," Satine said. "We start with retaking of Mandalore."