Chapter Sixteen: Morning Surprises


"How is that ship able to fly?" Mace muttered while he watched the Coronet dock. He was aware of the young knight beside him opening his mouth and quickly shook his head. The morning air of Coruscant was crisp, though already filled with smog from the speeders whipping by the Senate platform they were standing on. "I don't need an in depth explanation. It will make my head spin."

Anakin snapped his mouth closed, glowering a bit. "Mandalorian and Jedi ships are actually quite similar."

"Shocker." Mace did his best to keep his smirk to himself, watching the ramp of the Coronet come down. It seemed that no matter how many times the Jedi and the Mandalorians tried to walk away from each other, they simply couldn't.

Speaking of which, Obi-Wan and Satine were stepping down the ramp hand in hand, her nephew behind them.

He wondered who was in charge of bringing everyone's belongings to the apartment. Probably some guard that was paid way more than his Jedi stipend could ever dream of.

Obi-Wan looked...tired. Happy. Content. Grieving. There was something off, like he was uncomfortable with being on Coruscant, the place he was raised.

Mace tilted his head a bit, studying the young man and thinking that something was...not right. Some thought of the Dark Side was hanging over him. He was aware of a speeder docking at the platform, and wondered if he felt that man inside the speeder instead.

"Master Kenobi, Duchess Satine, Prince Kryze" Anakin drawled, giving an over-dramatic bow at the group. "Welcome to Coruscant."

"Anakin…" Obi-Wan stepped forward, dropping his fiancée's hand and embracing his former padawan. The embrace was tight, like they had not seen each other for months and years on end. They pulled away eventually, smiling. "It's good to see you."

"You two done looking like you're about to mack each other?"

Everyone looked at Korkie, startled at his words and his bored expression.

Satine gave a heavy sigh, shaking her head. "Master Windu, this is my nephew Korkie."

"Duchess! Master Kenobi! I thought you were coming at noon! I nearly missed your arrival!" The Chancellor was strolling towards them, coming from the speeder that had just docked. He was followed by Commander Fox, who looked as uncomfortable as always. He gave a wide, plastic smile. "A delight, as always - and may I offer my congratulations on your engagement."

"Chancellor," Anakin murmured with a bow of his head.

Satine gave a tight smile, putting a protective hand on her nephew. "Thank you, sir."

"This must be your nephew."

Korkie cocked his head a bit, a small smile on his face. He then stepped forward, clasping the Chancellor's hand tightly. "A pleasure, Chancellor."

"I look forward to watching you progress into the political stage, Your Highness."

"We'll see," Korkie murmured while he pulled away. "I'm still a student - and I have a responsibility to my clan before the Galaxy."

"Oh?"

Satine cleared her throat, glancing briefly at her fiance when he slipped his fingers in hers. "I appreciate the interest you have in Mandalorian politics, Sheev." She smiled sweetly at his frown at the use of his first name. "Perhaps we can discuss hyperlanes between my system and the Republic to help ease the recession plaguing our Galaxy."

The Chancellor gave a tense laugh, raising his eyebrows a bit. "Perhaps. I know how much you all be struggling right now. If you have the mental energy after the funeral - though I doubt it, with what you and General Kenobi have been dealing together."

"How kind of you," General Kenobi muttered. He glanced at Commander Fox. "It's good to see you, Fox. I hope everything is going well."

"Thank you, General."

Mace glanced over the group gathered on the platform, something in his gut telling him that the Galaxy could be saved or destroyed with these people.

"Chancellor, do you need an escort anywhere?" Mace asked, forcing some cheer into his voice. "I'm sure Anakin can escort the Duchess and her family to their apartment."

"...that would be lovely, thank you Master Windu." Palpatine nodded at everyone, his gaze lingering between Anakin and Korkie. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Prince Kryze."

"You as well."

"Obi-Wan," Mace said while the Chancellor and Commander Fox left to the speeder. "Could you stop by the Temple tomorrow, say...noon? We need to discuss a few things related to the funeral...among other things."

"...of course."

Korkie folded his arms across his chest while the Chancellor and Mace Windu and Commander Fox. Everyone was quiet while the speeder left the platform, watching it disappear into traffic. He shook his head, thinking a moment. "Does anyone think that he's, I dunno, a major dick?"

"He's trying his best in a tough situation," Anakin shot back. "The war is tough on everyone."

"Mmm - Auntie, should we get to the apartment?"


There was a soft knock on the bedroom door, which was odd considering it was barely dawn.

He knew it was Korkie on the other side before he was fully conscious. Shrugging on a robe, he rose out of bed and to the door.

"You feeling okay?" Obi-Wan asked sleepily, squinting at his nephew. He could hear Satine waking up, rubbing at her eyes and trying to sort out what was happening.

"I'm fine - but why is there a Jedi knight and a former Sith assassin making breakfast in the kitchen?"

And that's how five minutes later, Obi-Wan and Satine were fully clothed and utterly confused at the scene in the apartment kitchen.

Korkie was sitting at the table, the materials for his thesis project stacked neatly next to him... and staring at what was happening before him.

"Have you slept since we landed yesterday?" Satine asked her nephew.

"Morning sluts!" Quinlan chirped from the stovetop, turning around to flash a grin at them. "Have a seat, I'm making pancakes and bacon!"

"Ah, the sleeping beauties finally awaken," Assaji Ventress drawled. She had her feet propped on the table, drinking from a chipped mug. "Your guards suck, by the way. Completely trusted us and let us in."

Obi-Wan blinked a few times, unsure how to process this.

Satine, on the other hand, had no such trouble. Without much fanfare she went to the nearest drawer, opened it, and pulled out a blaster. She sat at the table, staring the woman down.

"You have tried to kill my fiancé at least a dozen times," Satine stated bluntly.

"Oh, at least two dozen times - right Kenobi?"

"You're not helping yourself Ventress," Obi-Wan muttered, coming to sit beside his fiancée.

She didn't move while Quinlan began to set the table, still staring the Dathomir witch down. "Give me one reason why you should be in here that doesn't involve whatever your relationship is with Quinlan."

Ventress smirked, moving her feet from the table to the floor. She ran a hand through her short blonde hair, motioning for Quinlan to join her. "I'm here because shit is about to hit the fan, and I frankly don't want to see this Galaxy more fucked up than it already is."

Korkie frowned, digging into his meal. He began to speak with his mouth full, but got a look from both women. Waiting a few seconds, he hastily chewed and swallowed. "What do you mean?"

Obi-Wan sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose. He could figure out why his friend and his friend's... girlfriend? had come here.

After all, one didn't get the title of 'Order's Best Spy' without having informats everywhere in the Galaxy…

...even Mandalore.

"We haven't told anyone. No one outside of Death Watch knew...or so I thought." Satine shook her head. "Death Watch keeps their secrets airtight - I should be surprised you know, Quinlan, but what my family has told me so many want to leave."

"You have informants in Mandalore?" Quinlan asked in surprise. "You strike me as a person that trusts everyone."

"I'm a planetary leader, I need to know what's going on...as my former governor's betrayal revealed." Satine licked her lips, leaning back in her chair and folding her arms. She glanced at her nephew, then did a double-take. "What?"

"What are you all talking about?"

Obi-Wan grimaced, debating on how to phrase this to his nephew...or if he even should.

Korkie was a kid. A child. He shouldn't have to worry about a Sith lord or a the crumbling of his system or the Galaxy… But he was also a prince of a system and -

"Do you know who Darth Maul is?" Assaji asked, looking at the young man.

"He killed Master Jinn didn't he...among other people?"

"I chopped his legs of on Naboo - thought I killed him." Obi-Wan sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. "He changed the trajectory of my life. I was about to leave the Order once my apprenticeship was done...marry your aunt. I couldn't abandon Anakin, the Order would have sent him back to Tatooine or something equally horrible."

Korkie nodded slowly, leaning back in his chair. "So he's working with Death Watch now?"

"Death Watch hates me, Maul hates Obi...together they can fuel each other, try to take down both of us. Probably with a coup or an invasion, neither are particularly subtle." Satine glanced at her fiance when he covered her hand, feeling sick to her stomach. "Korkie, we have family members in Death Watch acting as informants for me. They've been telling me that so many people want to leave...but they're scared, even more so since Maul came."

"So what are we gonna do?" Quinlan asked while chewing, cutting into the stack of pancakes once again. A few crumbs sprayed from his mouth. "Satine, you can't launch an attack on Concordia - the New Mandalorians will hate you."

"But three-fourths of my system will defend me...I only outlawed weapons in Sundari at the request of Prime Minister Almec…" Satine put her head in her hands. "God, I'm an idiot. He's probably been planning this for years."

Ventress shrugged, swatting Quinlan's hand away when he reached for her bacon. "Probably. Either way people are gonna hate you Highness."

"You can take a Mandalorian out of a fight, but you can't take the fight out of a Mandalorian," Korkie murmured, tapping his fingers against the table. "...Satine, isn't there some legislation coming through soon to allow individuals weapon licenses? With background checks and screening and all of that?"

"Just for Kalelava, the rest of the system never had weapon licenses stripped, I wouldn't dare - Korkie, where are you going with this?"

Obi-Wan straightened, understanding where his nephew was going. "By allowing the legislation and not putting up a fight you show your views are changing...even if really, you're just allowing people to protect themselves."

"I still find fighting despicable...but I want my people to survive."

Pushing the plate away, Quinlan folded his arms on the table. "...as much as I think this is a planetary issue Duchess, the involvement of a Sith means that the Jedi have to be involved."

"I'm not telling Palpatine. He'll have the Republic invade within a week and then there really would a rebellion against me."

"At the very least we should tell Mace," Obi-Wan suggested quietly. "He may not be the grandmaster but he is Master of the Order."

Quinlan swallowed hard, glancing away. "...we can tell him during the meeting about Adi's funeral later today. All of us will be gathered together..."

"Fine," Satine muttered. "I'm not happy about it but...okay...Obi...do you want me to be present?"


Author's Note: Hello!