Chapter 15 – The Mandalore Plot
Author's Note: Aaaand... the plot thickens! :) If anyone has any theories or questions feel free to share them! :D
~ Amina Gila
Theseus is both nervous and excited as the ship glides to a stop on the landing platform at Mandalore's capital. He can't believe he's seriously here, on the planet that his mother often talks about, and the place where he was born. It would almost feel like coming home – if he had a home here and knew anything about the planet, anyway.
"The Duchess awaits you, General Kenobi," a guard greets Obi-Wan as the two get off the shuttle.
"Far be it from me to keep the Duchess waiting," Obi-Wan replies. They get on a speeder, which takes them the rest of the way to the palace.
Glass windows line the walls of the large throne room, pictures decorating the walls in the few spots where there's enough room. Large elegant light fixtures hang from the ceiling.
Prime Minister Almec is the first to greet them, insisting that Mandalore would never turn against the Republic like the rumors claim and that they're fully committed to peace.
"Well, Master Kenobi," a woman's voice rings out. All heads turn to the doorway as the Duchess herself walks into the room, accompanied by a group of guards, "My shining Jedi Knight to the rescue once again." They used to know each other? From the way she's talking to him, the veiled annoyance in her tone and expression because of why they're here, Theseus has to wonder if they were more than acquaintances. Friends, perhaps?
"After all these years, you're even more beautiful than ever." Theseus raises an eyebrow at Obi-Wan's unexpected greeting. Maybe they knew each other better than he was thinking.
"Kind words from a man who accuses me of treachery," she retorts, sounding very unimpressed.
"I would never accuse you of personal wrongdoing, Duchess. However, a Separatist saboteur attacked one of our Republic cruisers. A Mandalorian saboteur." Obi-Wan withdraws a recording device, displaying a hologram of the warrior wearing Mandalorian armor.
"You must be mistaken," objects Almec, "No Mandalorian would engage in such violence, not anymore."
"You can see that recording as well as us," responds Theseus, "He's clearly Mandalorian."
"Where is this prisoner now?" presses the prime minister.
"He took his own life rather than submit to questioning. I know these commandos fought in many wars, often against the Jedi," Obi-Wan says. Like in the Mandalorian Wars from literally 4,000 years ago, the ones Theseus keeps having visions about.
"Every one of my people is as trustworthy as I am," Satine snaps, "I know we sound defensive, but –"
"Clearly, your investigation was ordered –" begins Senator Tal Merrik speaks up, where he stands next to Satine's throne.
"Because the Senate is eager to intervene in our affairs," Satine cuts off.
"My investigation was ordered by the Jedi Council," the Jedi Master replies.
"I stand corrected," the Duchess replies, much of her anger seeming to fade. Maybe the reason she was so upset was because she thought the Senate was involved. Considering that she's the head of thousands of currently neutral systems, that's hardly a surprise. "General Kenobi, perhaps you and your padawan would like to join me on a walk through the city?"
"Very well," the Jedi Master agrees.
Satine holds out a hand and Obi-Wan steps forwards, taking it as she walks down the steps of the throne. Theseus eyes them slowly. Something about that gesture seems more than a mere gesture of friendship. And it's weird to think of his master who's practically like a father being so close to someone like that. He always seems like such a perfect Jedi, even if Theseus knows he's still an ordinary human.
**w**
"This is my padawan, Theseus Shan," Obi-Wan tells Satine as the three of them walk through the city. Several guards trail a distance behind them.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Duchess," Theseus says politely.
"And you," Satine replies before turning back to his master. Theseus falls a few steps behind them, allowing them room to talk to each other in private – though he can still technically hear everything they're saying – as he takes a look at the city. "It's so good to see you again, Obi-Wan," Satine murmurs, "Despite the circumstances."
"Your peaceful ways have paid off. Mandalore has prospered since the last time I was here," Obi-Wan asserts.
"Not everyone on Mandalore believes that our commitment to peace is a sign of progress. There is a group that calls itself Death Watch. I imagine these are the renegades you're looking for. They idolize violence and the warrior ways of the past. There are those among us, certain officials, who are working to root out these criminals. It has been an ongoing investigation." Maybe they'll figure something out by coming here after all. Theseus supposes he can understand why she wouldn't want to talk about this back in the throne room in front of everyone. It's not something she would want the public to know and fear.
"How widespread is this Death Watch movement?" Obi-Wan asks.
"It's hardly a movement. It's a small group of hooligans who choose to vandalize public places, nothing more. We shall soon have them in custody. We have tracked them down to our moon, Concordia."
"I hope you're right, Duchess."
Theseus looking around at the tall buildings surrounding them. It's a city, but it's very different from Coruscant. It has a much more peaceful feeling, completely as opposed to the visions he has of the planet. Everything is so... light. Satine has done an excellent job restoring peace to her planet. He lets his mind wander as the adults talk, taking in the sights to see.
Obi-Wan is in the middle of talking when a sudden explosion shakes the ground. Theseus instinctively throws up his hands to shield himself and smoke and flames leap from the ground only yards ahead of where they're standing.
"Are you alright?" Obi-Wan asks anxiously, glancing between him and Satine.
"I'm fine," she says.
Theseus nods, turning to survey the damage. A number of people were caught right in the explosion. He doesn't know how many were killed or injured, but there are a lot of people on the ground. Satine runs over to one of them.
"Hooligans couldn't have arranged an attack of this scale," Obi-Wan declares.
"Then this must be the work of an off-worlder," Satine suggests, as she helps one of the people laying on the ground sit up.
"Something tells me it's not a coincidence. We were just discussing a certain terrorist group before this happened," Theseus objects.
"I happen to agree," Obi-Wan says, his gaze riveted on the holographic image glowing right behind Satine. The Duchess looks up, eyes falling on it immediately.
"The sign of Death Watch," she breaths.
"This goes far beyond vandalism. This is a political statement against your government and against you. You're not safe here. I'm taking you back to the palace."
"Whoever did this is probably still nearby," Theseus murmurs quietly, scanning the crowd.
Obi-Wan nods. "I want to interview everyone here," he calls, "Nobody leaves this scene."
One of the gathered people promptly whirls around and takes off running. Way to look suspicious.
"You, there!" Obi-Wan yells, bolting after, Theseus close behind. And is Satine seriously following them? What is she even thinking?
They chase him down a staircase and through a building. The man runs out onto a balcony area, coming a stop at the railing. "I only want to talk!" Obi-Wan calls
The man whips out a blaster, firing at them. Obi-Wan dodges out of the way of first shot and Theseus ignites his lightsaber, deflecting the next shot. The man fires a few more times and he deflects the shots, one of them hitting the blaster it came from. It's ripped from the man's grasp, and he promptly charges them. Obi-Wan throws him back with the Force. "I don't want to hurt you," Obi-Wan insists.
Right on cue, Satine appears in the doorway. "Stay back!" he warns her.
The man jumps up, running to the railing. What?! He can't seriously be about to – Theseus sprints forwards, but it's too late. By the time he's close enough, the man has already climbed onto the railing. "Stop!" he shouts, but the man says something in a language Theseus doesn't recognize before jumping backwards off the edge.
"We need to get down there," urges Obi-Wan and they take off. The man is still moving slightly when they get down there, in the midst of a group of mortified spectators. Satine runs over to him. She's endlessly kind. This man tried to kill her, yet she's more concerned with his death than anything else.
"What's he saying?" Theseus wonders.
"He was speaking in the dialect they use on Concordia, our moon," she answers quietly after the man goes completely still.
"I should like to visit this moon of yours," Obi-Wan remarks, "Perhaps I and my padawan could accompany the body."
"The Concordia moon is a province with its own governor. You'll need me to escort you," Satine tells him.
"That won't be necessary," the Jedi Master insists.
"Actually, it will," the Duchess shoots back, "You won't make much progress without me there, especially since you've just been involved with the death of a Concordian." What?
"But –" Theseus begins.
"I didn't kill him," Obi-Wan protests.
"I know," she retorts, turning to walk away, "That's why I'm still talking to you." Then what, exactly, is the problem? Clearly, he still has a lot to understand about Mandalorians.
**w**
The Governor is waiting for them when they arrive, flanked by two guards.
"Duchess Satine. You are most welcome," the Mandalorian greets her. He has the same light blonde hair like most of them.
"Thank you, Governor Vizsla," Satine replies, "May I present Master Obi-Wan Kenobi representing the Jedi Council, and padawan Theseus Shan."
Theseus immediately feels Vizsla's eyes on him. The gaze lingers longer on him than Obi-Wan. It's slightly unnerving because people never do that. They always pay attention to Obi-Wan. He's the master, the adult. Theseus is the padawan, something Obi-Wan is always very happy to remind him of if he starts getting out of line. Theseus has already come to accept he's very strict, which is given being a Council member and all, but it's a good part of why seeing him with Satine is so weird.
The brief exchange that follows is interrupted when the body is brought off the ship, and Viszla and his guards head off to attend to it. Just like they suspected, the man is believed to be a part of Death Watch.
"What now, Master?" Theseus asks, looking to Obi-Wan as Satine turns to leave.
"I need you and Satine to keep Governor Vizsla occupied at dinner," the Jedi Master replies thoughtfully.
"What?" exclaims the Duchess, pausing to look back at them.
"Where are you going?" Theseus frowns. He doesn't like the sound of this.
"Just for a look around," Obi-Wan responds flippantly.
"So, you're planning on searching for Death Watch now?" he asks dryly, "And alone?" Of course, his master would do that.
"I'd like to see one of these mining facilities for myself," the Jedi Master agrees.
"You mean you want to determine if they're still operational," Satine concludes.
"I hope to determine they're not." Obi-Wan withdraws two earpieces. "I want each of you two wear one of these so we can stay in contact in case you run into trouble while I'm gone."
"Isn't it more like in case you run into trouble and need assistance?" Theseus counters. Obi-Wan gives him a pointed look which he ignores.
"Remember that you are here under my protection," Satine frowns, "Please try not to cause problems where none yet exist."
"Think of me as... searching for solutions." Obi-Wan climbs onto the speeder.
"I have to tell you, I'm opposed to all of this."
"I'd be disappointed if you weren't," quips Obi-Wan, "Padawan, keep an eye on her when I'm gone, will you?"
"Of course!" Theseus assures.
"I'm not the one who needs an eye kept on," Satine grumbles.
"Then let him do it to humor me." He fires up the speeder, zooming away before she has a chance to reply.
"Come on, we don't want to keep the Governor waiting," Satine sighs, heading back.
Theseus follows her through the building, continuing to look around. It's so hard to believe that he's actually here on Mandalore. He pauses for a moment when he catches sight of a girl milling about, who looks to be about the same age as him. But what really catches his eye and makes her stand out is that her hair is more of a brown blonde, very unlike the typical Mandalorian. The strangest part, though, is that she vaguely reminds him of his mother. He tries to brush the strange thought aside as he continues following the Duchess, but he still can't seem to shake the image of the girl from mind. It's probably nothing. He needs to focus, anyway.
Vizsla is writing a condolence letter to the dead man's family when they arrive. "Master Kenobi will be here shortly. He said he needed to meditate." Theseus hopes it's an excuse the man buys, because they can't let anyone find out where Obi-Wan really is.
He's only half listening as Vizsla and Satine sit at the table, talking about the situation with Death Watch and why they might be trying to undermine her government. All he can feel right now is a sense of danger humming in the Force, through his bond with Obi-Wan. And then the bond goes suddenly eerily quiet. He's unconscious, Theseus realizes. Because he's definitely not sleeping. That can only mean one thing. He found Death Watch.
He needs to – he needs to go find him. But he's supposed to be distracting the Governor. Urgh. Obi-Wan needs his help right now. Why does his master always need him or Anakin to come running to the rescue?
"General Kenobi's meditation is taking a rather long time," Viszla remarks, looking over at Theseus. Why does he keep glancing at him anyway? Maybe he's more polite than most people and doesn't completely ignore children.
"It's my master's favorite pastime, trust me," Theseus quips, trying to ignore the panic he's really feeling. He feels his bond with Obi-Wan flare again, and then so does his earpiece.
"Padawan, duchess, please acknowledge." And how exactly is he supposed to do that?
"May I offer you another drink?" inquiries Viszla.
"Yes, certainly," Satine replies. The governor moves over to the counter to pour another glass.
"I'm in a bit of an awkward spot. I'm being held by the Death Watch." Because of course he is. If only Theseus could actually respond without sounding like an idiot.
"Sorry, Duchess. We're out of ice," observes the governor.
"Sorry to hear that," replies Satine, absently fiddling with her hair.
"Perhaps we should begin dinner without General Kenobi," suggests Viszla.
"There's a tracking function on your comlink," Obi-Wan continues, "Follow it due to east to my location."
"I don't know if I can do that at the moment," Satine replies slowly.
"I think we should wait," Theseus declares. "Maybe I should go find him."
"It's extremely urgent!" Obi-Wan almost sounds alarmed now. They need to get going.
Satine presses a hand to her head as Theseus stands up, preparing to head out of the room. "Are you not feeling well, Duchess?" asks Vizsla.
"Perhaps some fresh air would do me good," she replies, standing.
"Shall I escort you outside?" he offers, ever an extremely polite host.
"Take a speeder. It's rough terrain," Obi-Wan cautions.
"We'll be fine," Theseus assures, hurrying out the door without another word, Satine close behind. "Just follow me," the padawan tells her, jumping onto a speeder and activating the tracker on his comm. He zooms away, Satine following close behind on her own speeder.
It isn't long before the speeders pull up outside the mining facility that is clearly definitely still active. They jump off the speeders, ducking in through the entrance and staying in the shadows. It's easy being that it's totally dark outside now.
"We're here," Theseus calls into the communicator.
"Where exactly are you?" Satine asks.
"Listen for the loud, metallic, clanging sound. That would be the machine about to smash me into bits!" Oh, great.
"Master, how do you always get yourself into these situations whenever I'm not with you?" Theseus sighs, heading towards the door.
"Just hurry!" He's freaking out now, not like that's a surprise. It means they really need to hurry.
"We need a distraction," Theseus declares, glancing around. There's got to be guards everywhere in here.
"Here's one," Satine murmurs, pushing the alarm button and bolting away down the hall. He runs after. So much for her following him. She seems to know her way around much better. This is her planet, after all, he supposes.
They run into a large dark room. On the far side, Theseus can see the large machine crushing things. And Obi-Wan is suspended upside down in the center of an orange ray shield only a short distance away. They duck down behind a counter as the guards run out of the room to determine the cause of the disturbance.
"Well, it certainly took you long enough!" Obi-Wan calls as they run for the controls on the far side of the room.
"You know, I haven't saved you yet!" Satine snaps.
"Yes, no need to remind me of that."
Theseus scrambles up the ladder leading to the controls. He frantically looks them over, trying desperately to find the right one. He may have overlooked it a few times.
"Be patient!" she yells back.
"I happen to be a bit short on patience right now!"
"It's one of these," Satine tells Theseus, appearing next to him and motioning to some of the controls.
"Yeah, but which one?" he hisses. He doesn't want to push the wrong thing and do something stupid to speed up the process. He's not about to do something stupid and get his own master killed by a dumb mistake because he's panicking so much that he can't even focus.
"Turn the machine off!" Obi-Wan yells.
"We're trying!" Theseus snaps, slamming his hand down on one of the buttons. He lets out a breath he didn't realize he was holding as the machine stops seconds before smashing Obi-Wan into bits.
Theseus slides back down the ladder, Satine close behind. He senses a flare of danger the same moment Obi-Wan shouts, "Look out!"
He whirls around in time to see an armored Mandalorian lunging at him. Satine jumps forwards, hitting the 'off' button on the machine holding Obi-Wan in place, before another guard promptly tackles her. Theseus kicks the Mandalorian in front of him, but he retaliates with a hard punch to the face. The padawan stumbles back a step the man uses the opportunity to knock him to the ground. Theseus quickly rolls over, yanking his leg out from under him, sending him sprawling. He ducks out of the way of another punch, as Obi-Wan lands next to the Mandalorian holding Satine kicking him back into the wall hard enough to knock him out, before whirling to knock out the other.
Theseus jumps to his feet, running over to the nearby exit and opening the elevator door. They need to get out of here before reinforcements arrive. "For a man sworn to peace, you take an unseemly pleasure in the injuries of others," Satine quips as she and Obi-Wan step into the elevator after him.
"For a woman sworn to nonviolence, you don't seem troubled that I could have been killed back there."
Theseus shifts uncomfortably, turning to look out the glass of the elevator as they go down and tuning the other two out. The doors finally slide open and Obi-Wan lunges forwards, knocking out the guard standing outside before Theseus even finishes registering that there is one.
"Look there, it's the Jedi!" shouts a voice as two more armored figures run into view.
"This is not the way we came in!" Obi-Wan cries, trying to close the door but nothing happens. The Death Watch all open fire. He grabs Satine, yanking her down behind part of the wall, Theseus following. One of the blaster shots hits the control panel, sending the elevator speeding away.
"We'll have to stand and fight," Obi-Wan decides.
"Don't we always?" Theseus shoots back.
"Or in your case, just stand," he adds, looking to the Duchess who glares at him.
The Jedi master reaches for his lightsaber, only to realize that it's not there. Which for some reason suddenly reminds Theseus of something he's always telling him. Your lightsaber is your life. Well, see who lost it this time.
Theseus jumps out from behind the wall, lightsaber igniting to deflect the shots away from the three warriors flying towards them with jetpacks. Obi-Wan picks up a blaster, shooting one of them out of the air. The other two continue to fly closer, avoiding the shots. He snatches up the jetpack from the unconscious Mandalorian, throwing it in the air and shooting it. It explodes it cloud of smoke and flames, and for a a moment Theseus dares to hope that they defeated the others.
Except a figure promptly leaps out of the smoke, throwing Obi-Wan to the ground and spinning to shoot at Theseus. He deflects the first two shots before jumping at him, slashing his blaster in half. Theseus decides better of killing the person – Satine might throw a temper tantrum, and he really doesn't want to deal with that right now – and instead tackles him. They exchange a few punches before his first connects with the bottom side of the person's helmet instead (ow) and he rolls away the same moment, knocking his – her? – helmet off entirely.
It's the same girl he saw back at the Governor's mansion, he realizes. She's part of Death Watch? She's only his age. And now that they're here practically face to face, he really can't shake the sudden nagging feeling of how much she looks like Athea. It doesn't help that some part of his mind almost seems to think she's familiar, like he knows her somehow. But that doesn't make any sense.
The girl uses his moment of distraction to throw him to the side and starts to get up but Obi-Wan intervenes, slamming her over the head, rendering her unconscious.
Four more Mandalorians stride into view. The one in front is walking with an air of authority around him. He's someone important based on the Death Watch symbol painted on the front of his helmet.
The man glances at the girl on the ground for a moment before turning to face them instead, pulling his helmet off to reveal... Vizsla?!
"Governor?" cries Satine in shock.
"For generations, my ancestors fought proudly as warriors against the Jedi," he proclaims loudly, "Now that woman tarnishes the very name Mandalorian. Defend her if you will." He withdraws Obi-Wan's lightsaber, tossing it to him. He withdraws a saber hilt of his own, which literally looks ancient. "This lightsaber was stolen from your Jedi Temple by my ancestors during the fall of the Old Republic," he continues, igniting the blade. It's black, unlike anything Theseus has ever see. It even sounds different. "Since then, many Jedi have died upon its blade. Prepare yourself to join them."
Theseus steps back, lightsaber in hand in case he needs to join the fight. Vizsla jumps through the air, bringing his blade down on Obi-Wan's, who shoves him back. He slashes again, and Obi-Wan jumps back. They exchange blows a few more times. Obi-Wan is fighting on the defensive, trying to get a feel of the other man's fighting abilities. Vizsla's good, Theseus has no doubt about that, but he could never take out a Jedi Master. At least not one like Obi-Wan. For some reason he feels ridiculously proud of that fact.
Vizsla slashes at him again and Obi-Wan grabs his wrist, twisting his arm to the side. The Mandalorian swings the darksaber again and Obi-Wan steps back, throwing him back with a Force-shove. The other three Mandalorians catch him. He straightens and runs forwards again, bringing his blade down with a dramatic spin. Obi-Wan blocks his slash, spinning and kicking the darksaber from his grasp.
Vizsla punches him repeatedly, knocking him to the ground. In a flash Theseus lunges at the Mandalorian. He's not going to let anyone hurt his master. Vizsla snatches up the darksaber hilt and ignites it, swinging it up to meet the purple blade. He easily keeps up with the Mandalorian's blows, at least for the moment. Honestly, Vizsla doesn't seem to be fighting quite as violently as he was a moment before, unless the fight with Obi-Wan already wore him down a little. He's skilled, but Theseus is focused on a single-minded determination of not letting anyone get past him. He won't let anyone get hurt. This man has no consideration for life. He's a criminal.
The padawan lets himself feel the Force nudging him on and draws on the skills he's been learning so hard since the war started. He twists his lightsaber in a sudden move, wrenching the darksaber from the other man's grasp. He punches Viszla in the face, kicking him back at the other gathered warriors.
"Warriors, finish them," the Mandalorian orders, standing up.
The other three step forwards, firing rocket blasts at them. Obi-Wan shoves Theseus aside, sidestepping the three blasts. "Come on!" he calls. Theseus doesn't waste a moment, sprinting through the doorway of the elevator. Obi-Wan picks up Satine, jumping after.
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