Kalevala, Mandalore Sector

Bo-Katan's battleship landed on Kalevala, where the former Duchess, her newborn daughter and her rescued droid were temporarily housed on the fourth floor of a Nite Owls-owned apartment building, as she participated in the process of finding a more secure and secluded hideout.

The Duchess Satine's protégé, the Jedi, who had somehow survived the surgery, was transported from the ship to the apartment as well, on a stretcher, and was placed on a bed with his back reclined and his bacta pump running. He was also hooked to a synthetic blood IV bag. The Mandalorian surgeon had stayed true to his oath despite not really believing the jetii would pull through the next couple of hours.

Floating Somewhere in the Inner Rim, on the Space Destroyer

Dark.

Space was dark just like the depths of Sidious' soul, and it looked empty, not unlike his reservoir of mercy, or his automated pod, for the matter.

Few things set Sidious off like someone trampling roughshod over his plans, especially when the Jedi – or their associates – were involved.

Having anticipated the arrival of the Jedi-Mandalorian baby, the future of whom he had carved out with great detail in the tenebrous block of space and time he sought to control, the news of the hijacking hadn't been welcome ones.

As a patient chessmaster, he tended to rely on cunning and perseverance for his success, but the sting of having lost control over multiple elements in a short period of time was quickly turning into fury. He wished all sorts of evil upon the Kryze sisters and Kenobi, whose chaotic actions had nearly tipped the scale of balance for Vader, too.

Sidious wanted to exact his revenge with all the fibers of his core. He wanted the baby. He wanted to find the fools who had dared obstructing his will. Hence, he sunk deep into the shadows of Sith traditions to find them, as he awaited to receive his unstable young apprentice.

Nite Owls flat, Mandalore Sector

In order to survive, Obi-Wan had detached himself from his thoughts and tried to merge with the Force. He was in the present. Breathe in, breathe out, that was all that mattered. He experienced pain, but he wasn't pain. Even as he sunk deeper into unconsciousness, this state of induced peace didn't abandon him. Gradually, the abyss that enveloped him became less deep. Until selected images began slowly forming in his head again. He felt like an out-of-body spectator, watching himself from afar.

In his life, he had chosen the Council countless times over any alternative that presented itself, including Qui-Gon's, elevating it to the paradigm for Jedi conduct. His belief was that, despite its shortcomings, the institution of the Council still represented Jedi-ness in its purest incorruptible form. So he had chosen it over and over again. Until he had not. The day Kenobi disobeyed his orders and answered to Satine's plea, was the day he opened the door to new perspectives that could shape his journey as a Jedi. Not even he, as unrelenting and steadfast as he was in his dedication to the Code, could overlook the staggering contradictions which had been poisoning the Temple in recent years. Alas, the moment he thought to have lost Satine, was also the moment such cautiously allowed perspectives were permanently shut out. Or so he thought.

Muffled voices and blurred images crowded his head. A ringing in his ears accompanied the haziness in his mind. Dim mustard seed colored light filtered through closed eyelids. He was awake.

Obi-Wan opened his eyelids just enough to allow a flicker of dim light come through, allowing him to take in the details of his surroundings, as he started slowly remembering fragments of what had happened.

His first feeling was relieved awe at finding Satine's angelic presence so close to his. This knowledge gave him peace in a way he would not be able to describe.

Besides Satine's, a vivid, yet tiny presence filled the room. Obi-Wan couldn't see her but he could sense her. He wondered about her. He was supine with a slightly reclined back, attached to numerous tubes and wires, but that didn't seem to stop him from recklessly rolling on his side, attempting to sit up.

He came to regret that all too soon, when such a simple movement provoked him great pain, his back muscles stiff and sore, sending shockwaves alongside his spine and down to the fingers of his hands. Besides the actual lacerated tissues in their entry points, his wounds were also indirectly affecting his posture. Freezing and gasping, he grabbed the sheets, a motion that woke Satine up.

It was deep at night, yet Satine had just involuntarily fallen asleep at her daughter's bedside, after having spent the previous hours deciding on their next temporary living arrangements with Bo-Katan and one of her allies. After much going back and forth, a decision was made, and the relocation would take place in no more than four hours, at the crack of dawn. The less people knew about their whereabouts, the better.

Obi-Wan suddenly felt her at his side, inhaling sharply from the surge of emotions this awareness provoked.

"It's alright" she reassured, running soothing fingers through his hair. Her aura was tense, anxiously concerned. She felt strong and fragile at the same time. He reprimanded himself for adding to her burden of worries, yet at the same time reveled in her touch, wishing to impress this moment in his heart for eternity.

He could perceive a tinge of relief emanating from her. She probably worried he would not wake up again, he concluded with a pang, resolving to work harder on getting better, with the objective of assisting Satine in mind.

He opened his eyes more. The tiny presence accompanied them, like a background music. Following his intuition, with much effort, Obi-Wan placed a shaky hand on Satine's stomach.

What he felt was so incredibly strong in nature, that it startled himself a bit more awake. The first thing he sensed was the darksaber's extensive damage, which concretized Maul's deathly intentions. It felt like a scream in the Force, as an overwhelming scar, and it was especially hurtful to acknowledge. But if something was even more unmistakable, it was that a baby had inhabited her uterus until recently. He was able to relive some of her pregnancy sensations, her belly still slightly rounded. The image of water flooded his mind as he spread his fingers on her abdomen. He inhaled, soaking in the feelings. Realizing what he was hoping to feel, she looked into his eyes as she framed his face with her hands.

They had no clue they were being observed by Sidious, who had taken finding them seriously in his zealous quest, facilitated by the fact that Kalevala was Clan Kryze's hub.

In turn, Sidious had no clue they were about to leave the planet.