Bo-Katan was troubled, and not just for a single reason. She had just finished conversing with the Duchess, the sister she'd believed dead, like her fellow countrymen.
Ever since speaking with Satine, Bo-Katan had felt like she was choking. That's how you feel when you're stuck between desperately wanting to help a wronged, long-antagonized, formidably "Lazarus-like" sister for the sake of reconciliation, and pleasing your precariously-complacent new allies. Allies who, for the matter, served quite the central strategic position in the reconquest of occupied Mandalore; on an axis potentially opposite to her sister's worlview.
Immediately before Satine's alleged "passing", Bo-Katan had found herself one step closer to reevaluating her own definition of "warfare" in favor of a less despotic approach than Pre Vizsla would have supported. A sort of common ground where to begin conceiving the new Mandalore - that would inevitably come to be - next to her sister, something entirely different from either Death Watch's bloody approach and the New Mandalorians' self-imposed, restrictive discipline. After her failed attempt at saving her sister from prison, she had seen her dream vaporize. Unable to carry on herself with the plan, she had sought help elsewhere. Help she deemed essential, a lesser evil than the ongoing state of affairs on Mandalore, but nonetheless a device she would've rather done without. What now that Satine was back? Would things change? Satine needed help and shelter, her months-long imprisonment having drained everything - with the exception of willpower - out of her, apparently. She had only provided a brief, secretive and reasonably cautious explanation through their comm-link conversation, but she had made clear that she would've appreciated "martial support" for a rather urgent operation. Herein lied the problem. Satine had no troops marching alongside her, no warriors at her command. There was no chance she'd earn her allies' respect. As much as Bo-Katan longed for a long-repressed freedom to rejoice at having a second chance to make amends with her sister, Mandalore was an absoute priority. If Mandalore's survival required bloodshed, Mandalore would get it, no matter the individual price to pay.
Bo-Katan became queasy with uneasiness, yet she proceeded informing the stronghold of the imminent "visit".
The occupants of the spaceship had reached the lush, green moon of Kalevala where Bo-Katan was awaiting them, and were starting the landing operations.
There was an uncomfortable silence in the cockpit, making them feel as if an invisible cold wind had broken into the spacecraft and frozen them on the spot, as everybody had a good reason to worry about the hours to come. No one quite like Satine, though. Her anxiety at the moment remained unmatched. For the first time since the beginning of her rocambolesque adventure, she was starting to weight in all the variables of the situation she was willingly walking into. And it scared her. Whereas a few hours earlier, the adrenaline rush and other sanity-saving physiological strategies had numbed her senses enough to make her feel optimistic about the plan; now the raw harshness of reality, accentuated by the physical proximity of their desination, burdened her like a load of lead would a packhorse.
Cressidra looked solemn, but, Satine could tell, really didn't have a clue. She gulped, suddenly feeling the responsible for the Zygerrian's well-being, as well.
"Cressidra" Satine said out loud after a brief reflection.
The Zygerrian's feline reflexes immediately responded to being called by name.
"You must know meeting with my sister's stronghold holds potential danger. You are aware these affairs are mine to attend, and as I don't wish dragging you into something that doesn't concern you, I wanted you to realize that you are still on time to hop inside an escape pod and stealthily land elsewhere" the Zygerrian represented an adult sentient's companionship she wasn't keen on renouncing, but Satine knew she had to face reality, and too many deaths weighed on her conscience, already.
"These affairs aren't solely yours to deal with: I have my nieces to rescue, who are trapped in a Zygerrian labor camp. If I don't fight for them, nobody else will. For this reason alone, facing Mandalorians is a risk worth running".
Satine nodded, slightly furrowing her brow. What she most despised at the moment was her sense of impotence.
F-39 took charge of the landing operations. As they got closer to the surface of the moon, a signal was received inviting them to park the spaceship on the stronghold's docks - near the rendezvous location.
Satine, however, had other plans. She realized the stronghold was located on an islet in the middle of a dark lake, surrounded by thick woods. Cold air appeared to whistle all around, and even though she couldn't feel it, Satine could imagine it all too well, a chill-inducing sensation seeping into her bones.
"I have a bad feeling about this" she murmured. Cressidra and F-39 worriedly turned to look at her, as she quickly made up her mind. Her baby girl, fresh as a rose bud on her lap, stirred lightly in her sleep, making Satine's intestines twist with a mix of soul-touching tenderness and unmeasured dread.
"F-39, land on the shore. The bushy scrubs will hide the spaceship from view"
And landed concealedly, they did. It was a basic precaution worth taking, all things considered.
Having decided that they would use an escape pod to reach the stronghold on the islet, Satine and Cressidra got themselves busy unloading the ship. As they arranged everything on the ground, a few feet into the forest, Satine began realizing a painful truth that she dared not linger too much on, for fear that it would deter her from completing her assignment: she and Mara Jade would have to part ways. She had grossly underestimated the task of leaving a newborn behind. Psychologically, it destroyed her, it felt abominable, it was like going against nature. And yet, Satine rationalized that any harm coming her baby's way would destroy her even more. She, the "treasonous" former Duchess, showing up with a daughter and with no army nor weapons would be tantamount to offering the little one up for abduction, should these "allies" turn out to be the thugs her sister never feared surrounding herself with. Moreover, the risk of having her shameful Jedi paternity disclosed far outweighted the danger of leaving hours-old Mara Jade alone on the brink of a dark forest swarming with dangerous creatures.
A silent tear rolling down her cheek, she carefully laid the baby in a wheeled metal basket, padding her with the blanket she'd found on the spaceship. Fearing it would be too cold for her outside, she undid her own coat, notwithstanding the cold weather, and placed it on top of her. A hard expression was plastered on her usually serene face, now.
"F-39, you will stay here until we return" If we return, she should've rather said. For the time being, she refused to entertain that possibility, since Mara Jade's survival fully depended on her.
"Cressidra, are you ready?"
"Yes, but... isn't the cub coming along?" she was a bit taken aback.
Satine squeezed her eyes close for an infinite second.
"I don't trust them enough with my daughter's life"
The trip to the stronghold seemed both neverending and far too quick. The lake was cold, silent and quiet.
Rehearsing possible case scenarios in her head, Satine found no peace, while simultaneously willing herself to act more coolly.
Cressidra was grim, her eyes a slit, seemingly accepting of any fate ahead.
They reached the islet's shore as the dimmed lights of early sunset began painting their picture on the water surface. They were immediately reached by a pair of armored guards and escorted inside. Everything was so solemn.
Satine, her "sixth sense" still sharpened from her pregnancy with a Force-sensitive child, was overly aware of everything. The more feelings of impending doom danced around her, the more steadfast she became. When she reached the main hall, where her reception was apparently set to occur, she was inundated with refreshed fortitude, and the kind of calm only the wise can experience. Her state of cool was only momentarily interrupted when she took in the sight of Bo-Katan, her sister.
Her helmet removed, surrounded by three wary, muscular men in armor and full combat gear, Bo-Katan appeared stiff, as someone who is forced to act a certain way against her will would. Her expression almost impenetrable, her eyes nonetheless betrayed strong emotions... and yes, her trademark weakness. The one Satine had grown accustomed to knowing. Deep inside, Bo-Katan felt deprived of a long-due face-to-face moment with her sister. She felt violated. Still, she would've never admitted it.
Opposite to her, Satine stood unarmed, yet glowing with leonine resolve. Years went by, settings changed, yet dynamics stayed the same. Bitterness took over Bo-Katan. She didn't say a word as her counterparts recognized and began verbally attacking Satine. She was frozen. Her failure at having paved the way for a diplomatic and productive encounter gnawed at her, yet she was too selfish to let go of her now privileged spot among Mandalore's rogue armed forces.
Satine handled the attacks skilfully, as usual, attempting to strike a deal with the Mandos. She needed a spaceship and some armed backup for a rescue operation on a Zygerrian labor field, apparently. The fiery Zygerrian female she'd brought hissed alongside her, attempting to make her point through, only succeeding in worsening the situation. In return, Satine was offering know-how for the reconquest of Mandalore. Bo-Katan was tempted to make her voice heard, was curious, she had an impulse to reconnect... and yet she stayed silent, suffocating everything, choosing the easy damned path.
"Who has no honor has no place among us" thundered a warrior as Satine pityingly looked at him.
These men would never get Satine. Allowing her a hearing had been pointless, if not foolish. Bo-Katan regretted not having arranged a private meeting instead, but now it was too late.
Threats escalated quickly. In a short time, it became clear that the warriors would only grant Satine a possibility if she defeated all of them in combat. Bo-Katan threw her sister a look. Only eight months earlier, she'd been on the verge of death. Fighting in such a bloody manner went against her principles. She just couldn't overlook these facts.
"Satine Kryze has no political power, as she is standing here before us. She came with no army, nor desire to vanquish us. Let her and her escort be free to go"
Satine crossed looks with her. Her gaze was so intense, disappointed and reproaching that Bo-Katan felt her throat tighten. Still, she said nothing.
The warriors protested with Bo-Katan. To them, having the New Mandalorian Duchess go without a chance for exacting revenge was undesirable. However, they reluctantly agreed to Bo-Katan's conditions, recognizing Satine's "pariah" state as enough of a price paid.
The mission having been a near-utter-failure, Satine and Cressidra made their way back to the floating pod. The sun was now red and almost gone behind the tree tops, which stood out black and pointy. Red as the blood of a beloved Jedi meeting with the unforgiving arrows of enemies, Satine grimly thought. As hurt and embittered as Bo-Katan's botched reception had made her, she was more than glad she could walk back to her daughter on her own two feet. She would work out something different for her Ben, and Cressidra's nieces.
Or so she thought.
Kaak Rekigg was a burly, hot blooded former Death Watch sympathizer.
According to Kaak, a treasonous, non-Code-abiding Duchess, a Jedi whore, deserved no special treatment, no matter the circumstances.
Kryze had been soft, perhaps reminded of Clan blood ties with the former Duchess. But the only family that truly matters to Mandalorians is the "found" one, Kaak thought.
Hence, he would take it upon himself to settle the score with that woman.
Just as a near broken-hearted Bo-Katan was retreating into the stronghold, Satine and Cressida's pod having reached the mid-lake mark, Kaak Rekigg fired a torpedo at the floating device.
It happened quickly. There was a blast, followed by fire and combustion in the middle of the lake, as the pod crumpled itself into an incinirated, unrecognizable, sinking form.
Bo-Katan turned around as Kaak's cackles filled her ears. Her eyes widened, and she felt like dying.
"NO!"
In the back of her mind, Satine had known something of the like could happen. Having been raised by Clan Kryze, worst-case scenarios were always a possibility in her book, even when she would've absolutely done without, like in this case.
However, when the torpedo hit the pod, she couldn't help a sense of absolute loss washing over her. She couldn't believe her sister would do this, behind her back. And for the time being, she wouldn't, for this behavior didn't add up. Still, it didn't make it hurt any less.
Driven by unmatched survival instincts, she swiftly dived into the lake, dodging blazing scraps of metal as they fell all around her, like projectiles.
Cressidra, by nature avoidant of water, hadn't made it. She took fire alongside the escape pod, a shapeless form sinking shortly thereafter in the all-encompassing dark water.
Satine felt desperation flowing into her turgid veins. She screamed, before reminding herself of the dire situation she was in. Nobody would and should hear her. She was alone.
Mara Jade.
Her daughter was everything she could think of as she desperately fought to keep on floating, as she moved her ever-tiring legs and arms to reach the shore.
Right there and then the sun disappeared completely, plunging her into a darkness deeper than a Sith's heart.
Giving up would have been all too easy. She was breathless, burning, grief was weighting her down... but she wasn't by herself in the galaxy anymore. Mara Jade needed her. Obi-Wan needed her. She couldn't just give up and sink like that. As paradoxical as it may sound, she decided to block all - very concrete - worries from her mind. No guilt, no fear. As she swam, she filled her mind with trance-inducing, reassuring images. That night, alone in the middle of the dark lake, Satine Kryze reaffirmed her willingness to take on the new challenges she faced in a post-democratic galaxy.
Her physical strength, however, was abandoning her. The task of reaching the all-too-far shore was exhausting. The cold water made her feel like she could pass out any moment, coupled with her sore muscles, which were on fire. She was swallowing water as she took in big mouthfuls of air. She wasn't even sure she was swimming in the right direction.
"I... can't... give up!"