AN: It's Wednesday! Know what that means? You get this chapter early because it's fight club night! YAY! So you're getting the chapter now so I can focus on beating faces in. This one MIGHT push the T rating a bit so...uh...be advised? It's not TOO bad...

ALSO! The reviews have been fixed! FINALLY! I'll be responding to them after fight club!

Chapter 5: Satine

Obi-Wan paced the ship restlessly, going between the cockpit and his room. Back and forth he went, checking the autopilot obsessively to make certain the coordinates were correct, even though he knew they were, and tearing off his clothes and redressing, making certain that his tunic was neat and his robes were folded just right. He hadn't see his lover in a long time, though they did keep in touch via comlink, it just wasn't the same as being with her. He didn't lie to his Master; he simply was too busy to have gone back to Mandalore. The Sith Lord put everything he had into his work, and with war drawing closer each day, he kept finding new things that required his particular talents.

The result was a series of victories for Sidious as Obi-Wan helped to increase tensions between the Republic and the Separatists, the young Sith throwing everything he had into his work at the exclusion of all else. So now, when his own Master had to divert him toward the Duchess, he was fidgeting and nervous, made keenly aware of how badly he had missed her, how much he had needed her. Longing and desire and lust had been eating away at him, and he hadn't realized how much he ached until he was en route to Sundari, the beautiful capital of Mandalore. He was Sith, a creature of desires and passions, and while he had been gleefully satiating his need to slave lesser beings to his will, he had been neglecting his more carnal, physical passions.

Satine, of course, didn't know exactly what her fallen Jedi Knight had been doing, not exactly. The day before Kenobi had betrayed the Jedi, he had gone to Mandalore and rekindled his relationship with his Duchess, and the woman knew that Obi-Wan was changing, had changed, could feel it in him when even the Jedi Council could not. But Satine didn't care. The desire to have her Knight with her, the way she always wanted, the way she knew she could never have, was too much for her. All she could do was hang on to her lover and never let go.

In the weeks after his fall to the Dark Side, Obi-Wan had run to Mandalore, getting there before word of his death reached the Duchess, and Kenobi was able to reaffirm his love for her, and explain all that had happened between him and the Jedi. He didn't lie to her, but the version of the story was edited for her understanding. He explained that his Master had abandoned him, that the Jedi Council was blind to the problems in the galaxy, how the Jedi had sent him to a fight he could not win. Satine had a difficult time believing that the Jedi would do such a thing, but the pain in her lover was obvious, in more ways than one, but none more so than the bright yellow of his eyes. Kenobi had explained it as an effect of the Force, a harsh, physical reaction to the anger and pain of his betrayal, and that had settled matters for Satine. She wouldn't betray her beautiful Knight.

He wasn't a Jedi anymore, she did know that. He was still training in the ways of the Force, but under a different teacher with a different Code that allowed him to be human instead of the cold monolith the Jedi would have made him into. He naturally did not discuss the events that led to his embracing of the Dark Side; Obi-Wan had doubted that she would take kindly to the murder of a Jedi Master, or any of the other atrocities he had committed. Kenobi didn't tell her that he was Sith; she wouldn't know what it was, and she wouldn't understand anyway. She knew most of it; enough to satisfy her curiosity, enough for her to understand the change her Knight was undergoing, and enough to keep her by his side. The rest didn't matter.

Obi-Wan growled as he dropped into the pilot's seat, switching off the autopilot and thrusting the accelerator forward, the smooth purr of the engines rising in volume as the ship cut through space toward the nearby destination. He was a Lord of the Sith. A creature of passion and rage and here he was, reduced to pacing at the thought of a woman. He took a deep breath, trying to sooth his nerves, and he held his hand up, watching the slight tremble run through his fingers, and Kenobi couldn't stop himself from laughing. The whole thing was ridiculous. He felt like a Padawan again, way back when he had first fallen in love with the young Satine. It had been a very long time since he had seen her, and he knew it was more than just physical lust driving him mad. There was an element of possession in Kenobi's desire for the woman; she belonged to him, and Obi-Wan always fought for what was his, but even then, it went beyond that as well. He loved her, and his heart was aching for his Satine.

He was a Lord of the Sith, the Negotiator, an agent of the Force itself that would bring change to the galaxy, purge it of its corruption and weakness, and beside his Master, Darth Lumis would rule. But with Satine, he was just a person.

Obi-Wan entered Mandalore's atmosphere with no difficulty, entering the proper security codes to enter the city without any questioning. Satine had given him the highest level of security clearance so he could enter the city and the palace virtually undetected. The Duchess had understood that Kenobi was dead to the galaxy, and it needed to stay that way; she was perfectly willing to play accomplice to his deception if it meant she could be with him. After all, she felt a need to maintain the secrecy of the relationship as well. He directed the ship to the back of Sundari palace, setting his black chrome cruiser down in the royal hanger next to Satine's massive personal spaceliner. Pulling his hood over his head, Obi-Wan left his ship, long, swift strides taking him into the palace.

He quietly issued the command to turn away when he came across guards, simple, non-invasive suggestions that didn't harm the minds of the soldiers. He walked the halls like it was second nature to him, having been here nearly every month for several years until just recently. As he drew closer to Satine's bedchambers, Kenobi started to get a bit apprehensive. It was possible, he supposed, that Satine might be the slightest bit cross with him, but he brushed the idea off. Of course she would be happy to see him. Beyond excited. Thrilled, even. After all, she was a busy woman with a peaceful, prosperous planet to rule. Keeping the peace wasn't an easy job, and the Duchess would be too busy to even spare a thought toward Obi-Wan Kenobi.

He slipped inside her room as silently as he was able, bright yellow eyes scanning the room and finding nobody. Taking a deep breath, he lowered his hood and called out for the Duchess, and he could hear fast, frantic shuffling from one of the many branching off rooms, waiting for only a moment before swift, light bare feet carried Satine Kryze into the room, her pale face flushed and her nightgown slipping off one shoulder, and Obi-Wan found himself unable to look away.

She ran to him, a small whimper escaping her lips, and when she reached her Knight, Obi-Wan found her small but shockingly strong hand striking him across his cheek.

Alright, so she is cross.

"You know," he purred, rubbing the red mark on his face, "for a pacifist, you certainly are violent."

"How dare you!" she growled, drawing closer to him, and Obi-Wan couldn't help but grin like an idiot. He had forgotten how beautiful his Duchess was, especially when her entire being boiled over with passion. Even if it was anger. Toward him. "One year, Obi-Wan! Where have you been?!"

"Satine, sweetheart-"

"Don't you sweetheart me, Obi-Wan Kenobi! Where."

"I've been busy, dear..."

"Busy?! With what! Your training?"

"Well..."

"Go on, then, I an going to love hearing this one."

"...am I actually going to get to talk, or is this going to be a monologue?" She slapped him across the other cheek, harder than the first time, and Kenobi chuckled, hardly flinching from the sharp stinging. "I have been training, yes, but I've also been helping to bring order to the galaxy, you know how chaotic it is these days."

Her arms were crossed, clearly unimpressed. "One. Year."

"It hasn't been a year!"

"No? Tell me, how long."

"...ten months?" She went to slap him again, but he caught her thin wrist, smirking triumphantly before her other hand shot out and struck him again. "Hit me again and I think it may classify as abuse. Honestly, Satine, are you sure you're a pacifist?"

"I can't help it, you bring out the worst in me!" She pulled her wrist away from his grasp, her blue eyes narrowed in anger, but Obi-Wan sensed a conflicting mire of frustration and joy and relief and lust within his Duchess.

"Satine, it's not like we haven't talked, I contact you whenever I can..."

"Talking over a comlink a few times a month isn't the same as you being here." She reached out and laid her delicate, shaking hand on his chest, soft and light and gently stroking him, her eyes averted, believing that he may be gone if she looked up. "You keep telling me that you'll be here soon, and you never are. What am I supposed to think?"

Kenobi took her hand in his gently kissed her palm, and the woman shivered, whimpering softly. "I'm supposed to be dead, Satine. Between my training, staying hidden and trying to help establish order, it's become...difficult. You're busy too. I was here a few months ago, and you were on Coruscant."

"I am ruling a system, Obi-Wan, and our allies are on the brink of war!"

"I'm not blaming you, I understand." He tugged her arm, and she was pulled off-balance, falling against Kenobi's strong chest, and she closed her eyes and trembled when Obi-Wan pulled her close. "I'm trying to help as well, dear." He nipped at her ear and she shivered, moaning softly, and the Sith Lord could feel her pulse race, her anger quickly fading away to be replaced by longing. She had missed him.

"What can one dead man do against an oncoming war?"

"Mmm." He gently kissed down her neck to her bare shoulder, and her soft whimpers slowly became desperate gasps. "Don't underestimate what I can do..."

"...I never do, Obi, I just..." She wriggled out of his arms, her delicate hand cupping his cheek, gently stroking the blond hair of his beard and her blue eyes locking with his gold. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, my Satine..." He grabbed her hand and nuzzled his cheek against it. "I won't be away for so long again, I promise."

Her eyes narrowed, skeptical as she looked at him. "The Separatist Crisis is only going to get worse, Obi-Wan. I'm leaving for Coruscant again at the end of the week, and if you are trying to help, you're going to have your hands full."

"I already have my hands full. I can't possibly do any more than I am." He kissed her forehead, and the Duchess softly smiled, her small hands lightly brushing his sides. "Why are you even going back to Coruscant? You aren't making any headway."

"I must try, Obi-Wan!"

"To what end, Satine?" Her steely blue eyes looked down at the ground, and Kenobi brought his long fingers under her chin, lifting her face up to meet his yellow eyes. "The galaxy will be at war, Satine. It's unavoidable."

"No, we can negotiate, we can find common ground!"

"If the Senate were willing to negotiate, they would have already. The Republic and the Separatists are stubborn fools, Satine, all of them. I admire your desire for peace, but they don't want to find common ground, they don't want to negotiate. They want war." The Duchess looked away once again, but he gently forced her gaze to him again. "The Separatists have an army. The Republic will have one soon. Mandalore isn't a part of the Republic, so what are you doing?"

"A galaxy-wide war will effect us all. I won't stand for it! Not everyone in the Republic wants war, don't they have a say in what happens!?"

She was right, of course, Kenobi knew it. The galaxy had to be purged, yes, but Satine had a point. The Republic would be cleansed when Sidious came to power, the Separatist dissenters destroyed if they did not conform, but the rest of them...there was a chance that those who disagreed with war would simply fall into place when the fighting was over. The peaceful would quickly be brought into the fold, drawn to those with power to protect them and maintain the peace. Even his Master would approve of this. The goal wasn't war, that was simply a means to an end. The end was order. If that could be achieved with the least amount of resistance...

Kenobi bit his lip, looking at the Duchess with hungry yellow eyes, and the pale woman flushed deeply. "You are absolutely right, Satine." His elegant hand brushed her shoulder, running down her side and resting on her hip, his long fingers possessively gripping her and pulling her against him. "You are validating the corruption and greed in the Senate just by being there. You are giving the war effort credence by showing up and speaking against it. War is coming, but you don't need to be a part of it."

"I won't be!"

"Nor should you be, or anyone else who wants to avoid this foolishness. Excuse yourself from the Senate, send Almec to tell them you won't validate their idiocy with your presence. And give the Republic a third option."

Satine's blue eyes searched Kenobi's face, brow knit together in concentration as she considered the options her lover was giving her. And then the implication struck, a wide, pleased, loving smile spreading across her face. "You think I should unite with those that oppose war."

"I think it would be very you."

She quickly kissed his cheek. "This is why I love you." She rushed to her desk, pulling out of Kenobi's desperate grasp, and sat in the chair, turning on her datapad and swiftly began composing a letter. "Everyone is either Separatist or Republic because there isn't a third option. If we have enough support, maybe we can stop this foolishness."

"Perhaps, but don't count on that. At the very least, you will spare your neutral systems from this pointless war."

"And that is enough. Mandalore isn't part of the Republic. Let them do as they wish, so long as my people aren't dragged into it." She was silent, quickly writing on the datapad, occasionally shaking her head and deleting paragraphs, rewriting them with fervor when she struck on a better idea. She kept writing, deaf to all else, until strong, calloused hands laid on her shoulders, gently kneading the tense muscles, and she suddenly couldn't focus, her datapad in hand but forgotten.

"This is what I'm saying," Kenobi purred in her ear, gently taking the datapad from her hand and putting it on the desk to be forgotten. "You and I work too hard..."

"You may..." She gasped as his lips found her neck, kissing and nipping the pale skin and leaving pale red marks in his wake.

"I'm not the one working right now, my Duchess..." Kenobi pulled her out of her seat, his long fingered hands pressing the straps of her nightgown off her shoulders, the thin garment dropping to the ground. He groaned appreciatively as the longing within her erupted into a nearly overwhelming lust, her careful restraint melting away under the need and desire that had built over their time apart.

"It's been far too long, Obi-Wan..." Her elegant hands swiftly unbuckled his belt, letting it drop to the ground, quickly pushing his robes off his shoulders and whimpering in frustration when she was met with the smooth silk of his undershirt.

"I know, I feel it too..." he purred, running his hands over her bare hips, delighting in her shuddering moans, and lust and possession gripped him, the Dark Side clutching him tightly as he reveled in his ownership of the woman. Satine was his, and she - all of her - belonged to him.

She took his face in her hands and brought him down into a frantic kiss, Kenobi growling deeply as he held the woman against him. When they parted, Satine's pupils were dilated with arousal, the ice blue of her eyes like a thin ring, and she looked into the Sith Lord's blazing yellow eyes and she shivered.

"I'll never get used to those," she mumbled, her thumb running across his high cheekbones. "They make you seem...dangerous."

Kenobi smirked. "Are you afraid?"

"No." She smiled coyly, something wicked in her lustful eyes, and a desperate groan was torn out of the Sith. "I like it. There's something wild and feral in you, Obi-Wan and I want it."

He tore his shirt off, drawing her against his bare chest and running his long fingers down her spine. "Satine, does my pacifist want a bad boy?"

"She might. She may have been tempted by a former Jedi."

Kenobi chuckled deeply. "Good thing for you, then, that one needs to be incredibly bad to have to leave the Jedi." He nipped at her ear, much harder than before, and Obi-Wan grinned wickedly as she sucked in a sharp breath and gasped, part pain and part aching desire. "I, dear Satine," the Sith whispered, a hiss in her ear that made her shiver, "have fallen far, far further than you can possibly know."

Dawn was beginning to break, and it found Obi-Wan and Satine tangled in each other, a tired, satisfied haze hanging over them, but neither succumbing to sleep. The Duchess' fingers brushed over the rough, raised skin of a recent burn, one of many that spidered across his body like a tangle of roots. These welts she was used to seeing and knew them to be temporary, unlike the deeper, longer scars that cut across his body, frowning each time she found a new one, and there were always new ones. In his long absence, he had acquired several more, and Satine wasn't looking that hard to find them.

"Do they hurt?" she whispered, gently kissing the raised, red flesh, and he groaned softly.

"Not terribly, no."

"But they do hurt."

"I have an impressive resistance to pain." A tired smile tugged at the edge of Kenobi's lips when the Duchess' concerned blue eyes locked with his. "You don't need to worry, Satine."

"But I do."

"Please don't." He ran her pale blond hair through his fingers, and he sighed happily. It had been a very long time since he had felt contentment. "I have been learning. Sometimes learning requires pain to fully understand. Sometimes I'm just a slow learner."

"And which are these from?" she asked, her long finger tracing the jagged, meandering welts.

"The skills I am developing require focus under duress. These were...a teaching tool."

"...Qui-Gon wouldn't have done this."

"You're right. He wouldn't. He couldn't." Kenobi bit at her neck, smirking as she gasped in pleasure. "The Jedi can't teach me what I am learning now. My new Master has opened my eyes to what someone can actually do with the Force. He has shown me my true potential."

"And you don't regret it? Even with all the pain you're enduring?"

"Not for a second." Obi-Wan was not used to compassion anymore, and the overwhelming love and concern rolling off the woman beside him was making him fidget uncomfortably, a warm, burning sensation making his chest ache and the Dark Side within him seemed to recoil away from it. He knew what this was, of course; he may have died long ago on Serenno, but not completely. It was true he had changed, his loyalties, his beliefs, his desires all replaced by a darker version of the man he was, but a piece of his old self remained. It manifested itself subtly, but it was there, driving his every action. His distaste for needless killing, his preference for avoiding conflict through Force manipulation, his steadfast dedication and his fierce loyalty had all carried over from his Jedi self, and with Satine, he almost felt like he was before his entanglement with the Dark Side. Almost.

His hand drifted lazily down her body, gently stroking her hip and yellow eyes running over her pale form, dark bruises beginning to form on her white skin, and red marks and bites staining her neck and shoulders. His Satine had always bruised easily, but even for their intense and heedless passion, it was a bit excessive.

Kenobi petted at the dark shadows of his possessive grasp on her hip, affecting his touch with the Force, and she shivered. "Did I hurt you?"

"You ask me that every time, Obi. I'm not made of glass, I won't break."

"I know, but-"

"Have you ever known me to shy away from passion? I don't turn from mine, and I won't run from yours." She kissed him, hard and deep, and Kenobi was momentarily disoriented as her wandering hands stirred his desire awake, the lethargic Dark Side growling in satisfaction as it gripped him. "I told you," the Duchess purred, "I like it..."

"You truly are Mandalorian, aren't you..."

"All of me."

With a growl, he grabbed the Duchess around the waist and pulled the laughing woman underneath him. "If you had embraced the ways of your ancestors, my dear, you would be unstoppable. A warrior queen of Mandalore...the Jedi would cower."

"I don't need them to cower, I need them to keep the peace." She sighed, running her hands over her lover's shoulders. "Where have they been while the Republic has been falling apart? Aren't they supposed to be keeping the peace?"

"Satine, talking about the Jedi is getting in the way of us, at this moment, right now."

"You started it, Obi."

"Mmm, but mine wasn't political." She started to protest, but he quickly covered her mouth with his own, breaking away only when he felt her body relax and begin to move against his.

"We aren't going to get anything done today, are we?" she asked, flushed and breathless.

"Well-"

"Anything productive done."

"No, I suspect not."

She frowned. "I really have a lot of work to do, we should be sleeping."

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "Satine, this time, right here, was your fault."

"...my fault?!"

"You aren't the only one with things to do, sweetness."

"Yes, but my things are important. I have to set up an alternative to a violent, pointless war, I need to prepare Almec for his trip to Coruscant in my stead, I need to reach out to the systems that haven't declared for the Republic or the Separatists, I need-"

"Alright, you're busy. I got it. I just need to meet with a psychotic cyborg that I hate."

Worry made it's way back into Satine, and Kenobi groaned, rolling onto his side to lay beside her. The mood was effectively ruined by the Republic. He was adding this to his list of reasons why the Republic needed to be destroyed. "Why are you doing this? Is it dangerous? The last time you did something dangerous, you were declared dead by the Jedi!"

"Satine, it's not dangerous..."

"You said he was psychotic."

"Psychotic, yes, dangerous, no." He kissed her cheek, but she was still frowning. "Honestly, Satine, I'm more dangerous than he is. I've been inside his mind once, I can do it again if need be."

"And you mean that literally, I presume?" Her fingers stroked his temples, her blue eyes fascinated as she looked into his golden ones. He didn't need to answer. The smirk on his face said it all. "You have said you can get people to do what you want."

"Anything I want. Anything." Satine gasped, and those blue eyes seemed to light up; power was alluring to those who should have it, and Kenobi saw in his Duchess a brief flash of desire.

"Show me."

He smiled, kissing her cheek. "Sweetheart, I can't show you. I'm supposed to be dead, nobody can know I'm here."

"...do it to me." Obi-Wan sucked in a sharp breath, his lungs burning as he forgot to exhale, and his Duchess rose to her knees, sitting back on her heels above the thick blankets on the bed.

"Please? You talk about your training, I see the pain you endure on your body. Show me what this suffering was for."

"...and you want this?" She nodded, blue eyes bright, and he sat up, breathing deep. "I'm going to do something...simple. Fairly non-invasive. I can't do the more advanced things to you."

"Will I know what you're doing?"

"Oh yes, you'll feel it. You'll be aware. As I said, non-invasive. It's more of a...Force compulsion."

She closed her eyes, breathing deep, and then looked him in the eye. "I'm ready."

Obi-Wan reached out to her, his extended finger lightly touching her forehead, muttering his command under his breath to the Dark Side, and he could feel the flow of the Force, warm and tingling as it passed to Satine. He put his hand down, his golden eyes glinting in the low lighting of dawn as Satine sat still for a moment, a smirk on her lips as if she were challenging him. And then she sucked in a sharp breath and held it, Kenobi watching with interest as the blue of her eyes faded to the black of intense arousal.

"Haar'chak..."

Kenobi grinned as the woman was reduced to cursing in her native tongue, panting and moaning as she reached out with a shaking hand to grab at the Sith's leg. "Now, my dear, there won't be anymore interruptions. Try to stop it, try to bring yourself back under control."

"Ni vaabir nayc copad at..."

"I know you don't want to, dearest, but try for me." A violent shiver ran through Satine's body, her hands coming to tightly grab her arms, eyes shut tight as she tried to regain control of herself. She held her breath, and it seemed for a moment as if she were slowly reasserting herself, but all hope of control was lost when she whimpered desperately as she exhaled, her hips rolling as she ached for contact.

"This is happening, sweetheart, because you are receptive to me. You are already wide open, nothing inside you is resisting because you want this. Now," he purred, leaning back and sighing as the Duchess crawled into his lap, "I can do this to people who don't want this. People who aren't receptive, people who are actively trying to resist me, and it's easy." Kenobi pet at her hair, and she pressed flush against him, her entire pale body stained a light pink and burning against him. "All I need to do is break someone's mental resistance, and I can make them do anything I want. That is what I have been learning. That is what makes me dangerous. And that's what makes me what you Mandalorians call 'dar'jetii.'" He smirked, watching his Satine slowly fall into lust-driven madness, and it made him ache, not just with longing, but with the pleasure of his own powers.

"Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum."

He grabbed her chin and looked into her dilated eyes, searching for the sharp intelligence of his lover, and he found it quickly. Her mind was hazy with lust, but she was lucid. "You love me? After that? After you now understand first hand what I can do?"

"Cui ogir'olar. Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum."

Kenobi held his breath. The thrill of power left him in an instant, replaced by something that even the Dark Side couldn't corrupt.

It's irrelevant. I love you.

He loved her, all of her, but he was too afraid to share all of himself with Satine, knowing that she would disapprove of what he had been doing, but now, in this moment, her love was unconditional. He kissed her deeply, moaning as she wrapped her legs around his strong waist. Kenobi cupped her face in his hands, breathless as he watched uncontrolled passion rage within her, and he knew he looked the same.

"Mhi solus tome, mhi solus dar'tome."

We are one when together, we are one when parted.