Chapter Seven: Jedi Watchman
Warning: Brief Mention of Suggested Suicide in Last Scene
The alarm sounded shrilly, though it didn't wake him up. He had been awake for hours, staring at the ceiling. Pondering. Wondering.
Wondering if he could refrain from punching Obi-Wan Kenobi in the face for making his aunt hurt so much. Or hug him, because Obi-Wan had done some much for his aunt. Korkie closed his eyes, scrubbing his hands over his face. On the bunk across the room, his uncle Jared was grumbling and sitting up blearily.
"Korks - shut that thing up."
"Hmm - oh." Korkie hit the alarm and sat upwards, shifting and leaning against his dorm wall.
Jared flopped onto his side, staring at him in the dim light of their dorm room. His normally cheerful demeanor was subdued. "It's okay to not know how to feel, you know."
"Just...last time I saw Sati'ika she was still crying every night and in so much pain - and then she sends us back to school with barely any acknowledgement that I led the system for a few weeks and now Kenobi is becoming the Watchman for the system?"
"We don't know if the Clans will approve of that today - you have to remember that. You three heading on a tour of the system and then Coruscant hinges on today's descsion." Jared pushed his blankets to the side and swung his feet to the side, leaning his elbows on his forearms. "Have you thought maybe Satine needed her riddur more than she needed us?"
"We're her family - "
"I think you're jealous because Satine isn't spending every waking moment coddling you now." Jared gave a snort while his nephew - only a few years younger than him - stood and started to rifle through the dressers. "She can have a life and still keep you in it."
Korkie went to the wardrobe and pulled out his formal robes. He didn't respond, carefully getting dressed in his formal clothes. It had been his decision to arrive separately from his aunt. He was the heir after all. It felt strange to say that when, historically, the heir was not typically a close family member. However, he was the nephew of the Duchess. No one really put up a fuss about that. To his knowledge, most people liked him, even the traditionalists. Very few assassination attempts had been against him.
Jared started to snore.
"Now if we could just get a damn Manda'lor as well," Korkie muttered while he smoothed his jerkin in front of the mirror. He had always thought it would never happen if his aunt was in power...but she shared her bed with a soldier.
Maybe times were changing ever so slowly.
The antechamber in Sundari was massive. It easily held about 150,000 people...and for the first time in her life, there was barely a seat that was empty.
This many people want change…
Satine dug her nails into her palms, well aware her riddur was beside her, tense and in awe. Several glanced towards her - well, it had been a conscious decision by her to sit beside her clan members and not at the dais. Rarely there had been a Council of Clans since the war began, and she has felt wrong taking her seat when there still wasn't a prime minister...or a Manda'lor.
The main issues were, well - voting on a prime minister, addressing their impending recession, and - and Obi-Wan becoming a Watchman.
She glanced down when Obi-Wan grasped her hand, trying to smile when he pressed her knuckles to his lips.
How can I be so angry at someone I love so much?
Satine glanced around the stands as people jostled and shouted at distant relatives and people tried to get comfortable.
How can I pity Obi-Wan for his loss when he isn't think straight? When he wants to kill Mail so badly?
There was a tap at her shoulder, and Satine turned around and grinned. "Korkie! You made it!"
Korkie gave a wide smile, pointedly ignoring Obi-Wan while he reached down and gave her an awkward embrace. "Traffic was horrible - the lanes are jammed."
"A statement was released for people to utilize public transport today," Satine grumbled. "People don't listen to the government."
"Says the head of state," Obi-Wan murmured before getting a smart slap to his chest. He chuckled, kissing her knuckles again.
"How much longer do we have before you call this to session?" Korkie asked, rolling his eyes good naturedly when the aunts he was sitting around finally took notice and went about hugging him tightly.
Satine had to giggle at the sight, well aware the cameras were starting to turn on and float around the antechamber, and the monitors were beginning to come to life as well.
"A few minutes Korkie - it's predicted to last most of the day."
"Just to clarify," Obi-Wan murmured in her ear. "The Council of Clans is like the Mandalorian version of congress or parliament."
"A congress and a parliament are the same thing here - but yes. Heads of clans are led by the Prime Minister, each clan member votes on various issues if they're over the age of sixteen and return it to the Clan leaders, the Duchy ratifies or vetoes their decisions or sends it back to be redrafted or it goes to the court system. The Duchy also interacts on a galactic level. The Manda'lor protects the traditions of the people."
Satine watched the technician teams in the center of the antechamber, where the speaker could be shown as a giant Holo figure. She glanced to her side, where an old style microphone ontop of a podium stood.
Obi-Wan nodded his head slowly, blinking a few times before he seemed to grasp it. He followed her gaze, a frowned cementing on his face. "So you need a Manda'lor?"
"We need a Prime Minister too."
"A Manda'lor might stop Death - "
Satine was given a nod by one of the technicians near her and stood, letting her riddur's words fall short. The purple dress she was wearing had been worn on Alderaan, before life had become nearly too much to handle.
She smoothed it carefully, taking a deep breath before stepping to the podium. One of the cameras floated near her.
A smile crossed her face while the crowd gradually quieted.
"We need a someone that protects traditions - " she started.
"Only executive orders have been given in the past two years or court decisions!"
Satine rubbed the bridge of her nose, inhaling deeply before banging her hand on the podium, commanding silence. She looked over the sea of arguing Mandalorians, well aware that plenty of them hated her.
"...I am well aware that we need a Prime Minister and a Manda'lor - but it's been nearly two years without a Prime Minister and with little move in legislation being passed."
Satine grasped the edges of the podium tightly, keeping her shoulders straight. "I asked each clan to give a proposal on who they want to run for office. The Judicial System is releasing the list tomorrow - legitimate campaigns will begin then. The election will be as it always is - in six months, by popular vote. Any objections?"
In the stands, Obi-Wan leaned forward, wondering why it was suddenly so silent. Then he realized - everyone was pulling a datapad from underneath their chairs and typing a response. Moments passed, and then two giant holographic percentage signs popped up in place of Satine's hologram.
The numbers scrambled for a moment before -
58% yea.
40% nay.
2% undecided.
Obi-Wan let his shoulders sag in relief, thankful that at least the election could move forward. He watched the transition to a debate about the economy and the recession the rest of the Galaxy was grappling with. There was something about the mining colonies, restricting trade of opals to increase prices - he lost track after that.
Economics had never really been his strong suit.
"Our economy tanked the moment your family banned weapon trading - thousands of smiths were out of business for decades and penalized for their trade!" A man from...Clan Rook? shouted.
"Don't think I'm not aware of that," Satine snapped. "I know the statistics as well as all of you - but most everyone is back in the workforce that was displaced!"
Someone - in green and blue colors - scoffed. "Not everyone is working the jobs they want to be."
"Job growth is at all time high!" A woman shouted.
"Not in fields that matter!"
The chatter began to become overwhelming. Shouting and screaming and bickering all around the antechamber.
Obi-Wan grimaced, shifting and feeling his muscles scream at him. He was still sore from the...the mission. But that wasn't what he was grimacing about -
Something didn't feel right...like something was gonna go wrong any second.
"Do you think I enjoy being your Duchess?" Satine yelled suddenly. The antechamber silenced at her outburst. "The policies I have tried to enact over the past fifteen years has been in an attempt to recover from centuries upon centuries of war and bickering. For once we have a united government and I'm trying to establish a traditional system and all I wanted to do today was talk about options."
Ser Fett gave a scoff. "Options that dissuade and mock our heritage?"
"Hush, Ser Fett."
"Of course a Bralor wants her to speak - your clan worships the Jedi."
"As does our House." The woman from clan Bralor wore bright yellows of various hues and had a kind face. "And there is nothing wrong with respecting the Jedi - or our Duchess."
Satine gave a grateful smile. "Thank you - wouldn't make sense to have grants so people could improve their land and crops within our system so we don't have to rely so much on intergalactic trade systems. Or we could try to improve the medical field - hell, if we could set up a better system more people could be employed, people would be healthier, people could work more."
She shook her head, glancing around. "Most of us Kryzes may support the arts, but that does not mean we abhor every other aspect of our culture."
"While you suggest wonderful theories." It was someone from clan Kelborn speaking.
There was a tap on his shoulder, and Obi-Wan found Korkie murmuring to him, "Kelborn's are a clan known for radical opposition to anything considered untraditional."
Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, but nodded nonetheless.
"How the hell should we figure this out? Taxpayer money?"
"Believe me, I pay far more taxes than the average citizen - does that make anyone feel better?" Satine pressed her lips together tightly before letting her shoulders drop. "I recognize that this war has caused hardship in our system, for most everyone...and I recognize that Pre Vizsla and those he employed did not always put money where it belonged. I apologize to anyone who suffered because of that - and anyone who did benefit, I would appreciate it if you came forward, but we're Mandalorians, I'm not expecting much."
A faint chuckle rippled through the crowd of thousands. Satine gave a small smile, gripping the podium tightly.
Then the conversation shifted to more technical terms and Obi-Wan was lost again. He tried to follow, but was lost as proposals kept flashing onto the screens before being rapidly revised and flashing up again. It made him have a headache, all the yelling and shouting and the lights.
He wondered how Anakin handled this type of stuff with his epilepsy.
A cheer erupted from the thousands of people around him.
Obi-Wan blinked, wondering what had happened.
There was another tap on his shoulder.
"A proposal to have government land grants to improve agricultural farming and animal husbandry is agreed to move through the court system. Auntie said she'll pass an executive order if the Judicial System doesn't agree to it." Korkie gave a rough smile, glancing back at the crowd.
Obi-Wan glanced back to the podiums, realizing that the Mandalorian government was far more complex than he once thought.
But for the next few hours, that's how it went. Everyone debated about various ways on how to improve the economy, proposals flashed onto screens, people shouted in a jumbled mix of Basic and Mando'a, something was approved to go through the courts or was dismissed, and Korkie would tap his shoulder to explain.
When it was nearing late afternoon, his stomach was grumbling and he was stiff from sitting so long.
He had no idea why Mandalorians didn't break for a recess, but...they were Mandalorians. They thrived on discomfort.
A part of him wanted to nod off when -
"Before we wrap up, I need to address one more thing." Satine's face was impassive, not showing any sign of weakness. The crowd was restless, though still listening.
She didn't turn to look at Obi-Wan, though cameras floated towards him.
He was on the screens.
"As many of you know, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and I are in a relationship. It is unconventional, but that is besides the point. It's a simple vote based on a proposal released by the courts...whether or not Obi-Wan Kenobi should become the Jedi Watchman for the Mandalorian System."
Satine was quiet while people shouted slurs, not breaking her composure.
Obi-Wan grimaced while she was called a whore, a slut, that she should kill herself, that no Mandalorian should spread their legs for a foreigner, before marriage…
Only the Kryze clan was absolutely silent.
"Do you really think I'm the one on their knees?" Satine murmured, her voice echoing softly. She sounded so... exhausted.
That only increased the shouting and ruckus.
He was aware of Korkie standing, walking down the steps and approaching the podium.
Korkie put a hand on his aunt's shoulder, quietly asking her step aside. She did, brow furrowing. A small smile crossed his face, and he unclipped something from his belt.
Obi-Wan tensed, half-rising from his seat.
A shot rang in the air.
Everyone in the antechamber silenced.
"A gunshot shuts all of you up?" Korkie asked, shoving a blaster back into its hidden holster.
"Korkie," Satine chided quietly, the mic barely picking up her voice.
He gripped the podium, his posture firm, his feet planted squarely on the floor. "The matters of who anyone sleeps with should not matter, no should your personal bias. Just - think about it for a second. One of the Republic's top generals is coming to us. He's leaving the Republic, the Jedi, to protect us. No more threat of the Jedi attacking again."
See Fett stepped forward, his flare fierce. "And if the war comes to our - "
"The war has already come to us," Korkie snapped. "The Republic now won't dare stop trading with us now - and the Separatist have never stopped trading. We benefit more than we lose - now it's time to vote. This is the people's matter, not the courts. Ours, as citizens."
Obi-Wan met Satine's gaze, giving a small nod. They both knew that regardless of the decision, he would stay.
... hopefully without an argument like yesterday.
The Hologram percentages scrambled.
…
86% yea.
10% nay.
4% undecided.
Obi-Wan was now the Jedi Watchman of the Mandalore system.
Author's note: hellooooo
This chapter was so hard, Korkie may be out of character, but oh well
ii Digestive Reader ii
