From Darkness, I Rise

by Kurenaino

The Jedi are thrust into a war that threatens to tear the galaxy apart, and prospects are bleak when the fearsome Sith Negotiator begins to win key victories against the Republic. Sequel to From Grace, I Fall. Also, more Sith!Obi keeps the sadness away. Search your feelings. You know it to be true.

47. Discord

Chapter 47: Discord

Pleasing Satine was proving to be...complicated. More than he could have possibly imagined. As it turned out, she wasn't at all pleased by the prospects of killing his Master, and she was even less pleased by the Sith Master himself drawing Kenobi away from the middle of their domestic spat to rescue Dooku from pirates. A few days away on Coruscant in his broken, uncontrolled state, and Obi-Wan returned to a Satine that had several days to get so worked up and angry over her lover's disappearance that she barred him completely from the bed they so often shared. At first, he was impressed by the woman's passion and rage, the Dark Side drinking deeply from it and drawing Kenobi to her, if for nothing else, to syphon off the wrath that fueled his own.

But now, he was beginning to grow impatient. He had been calm and placating, doing all in his power short of using the Force to calm the woman, ease her back into an amicable state, but to no avail. His Satine was stubborn, and she would not be swayed by smooth talk and kind words. She was too smart for that, and for a woman that led her people with a policy of negotiation and non-violence, she was certainly keen on not talking to Obi-Wan.

The temptation to go into her mind and absolutely ravage it into complete obedience was strong for only a short time. Meditating on the idea made him realize just how much he wanted her, not simply the idea of her, which he hadn't been confronted with before. They had seen each other so infrequently because of his training that their brief encounters were spent exhausting the passion between them in order to sate themselves until their next encounter. Now, they saw each other nearly daily, and they were beginning to settle into a partnership. Satine wasn't simply an object of lust, she was a powerful woman in her own right, a passionate lover, and an advantageous ally.

Sidious had to foster friends and allies and connections as Palpatine, all without use of the Force, so often managing to bring difficult allies under his sway by simply being clever and reasonable, giving them what they wanted in the short term so he could achieve his long term goals. Obi-Wan needed to do the same. The future of the Sith wasn't in brute force, his Master had said, but in political machinations. Mandalore was important in this respect, and Kenobi was driven to bring his Satine back into a partnership with him. He would need her if he wanted to rule an Empire, create a legacy, build an enduring Sith Order. Not to mention that the Mandalorians would never, ever accept the rule of an outsider, and they were a people that had once banded together to aid in the destruction of the Sith. Pacifist or no, the warrior spirit of the Mandalorians could not be tamed, and if really pushed, they would rise again to do battle with the Sith.

Like Satine was doing right now.

Kenobi paced the sitting room of the Duchess' personal quarters, one of the three Jedi holocrons that he possessed in his hands. He needed patience, he needed calm, he needed control, and to do that, he needed the kriffing holocron to open. A deep growl rumbled in his chest, his hands tightly gripping the blue cube and channeling the Force through it, but to no avail. The holocron stayed dull and tightly closed, and it took every ounce of Kenobi's will to not throw it through a window. The other two Jedi holocrons were no different. He sighed, throwing himself onto the couch and holding the cube up. His Master had promised to teach him how to master the Dark Side, but Obi-Wan needed to know now. Despite his tremendous power, he felt unbalanced, and he was plagued by visions, not just at night when he attempted to sleep, but during his waking hours as well, if the Force deemed it necessary. It wasn't debilitating, as it had been on Coruscant, but it was a distraction, and while he did appreciate the foresight, if it were to happen during battle, the slip in focus could result in his death, or worse, his capture.

He turned his head when he heard shouting coming from behind the door on the far side of the room, leading to Satine's personal conference room, which she used when the Mandalorian ruling body was in session. For hours, the Duchess had been in heated debate with the Rodian leadership. The planet had been a mess since the beginning of the war, and now, it seemed as if they wished to withdraw from politics and join the Neutral Systems. The arrangement seemed to be rife with problems, though Obi-Wan had difficulty understanding why. From what he understood, both parties had wanted the same thing. These problems wouldn't exist when he brought the systems of the galaxy under the mantle of the Empire. There simply wouldn't be room for this sort of debate.

Kenobi fished the comlink out of his robes when he felt the disc vibrate as it beeped, and he set the holotransceiver on his stomach and activated the device, the hologram displaying the saluting form of Clone Commander Cody, his helmet tucked under his arm. "How's Ryloth?" the Sith lazily asked, and the clone beamed.

"I'm sorry you're missing it, sir. You'd like it here. The rancors like it here."

"I hope they don't like it too much, or they're going to be difficult to drag back home."

"That already looks to be a problem. They've gorged themselves."

Kenobi groaned. "Are you overfeeding my pets? They become less effective if they are sleeping, Cody. And the Force knows they sleep after meals..."

The clone looked deadpan at the Sith. "And who do you suppose is going to get between those beasts and their food?"

"I do."

"We don't have the Force. And speaking of..." A cocky grin spread across the clone's face when he held up a lightsaber, and Kenobi narrowed his eyes, shot up on the couch when he didn't recognize the weapon. "I killed a Jedi."

"You?"

"Well...Ghost Company and I." Cody shrugged and ignited the weapon, the blade humming and causing the hologram to exhibit slight interference. "He wasn't expecting his clones to turn on him."

"You aren't his clones."

"No..." Cody, twirled the weapon around his hand, and Obi-Wan felt himself fill with pride. He'd been training the clone in lightsaber combat when he demonstrated excellence in both the Force Pike and the electrostaff. Some clones were simply superior, and Cody was showing a talent that others simply didn't have. He may have been designed to be closer to the original specimen than the others in his clone batch in order to designate him for command. "We killed his clones and stole their armor."

"Did you recognize him?"

"No, sir. I don't believe you would have either. But his clones called him General."

Kenobi whistled. "That would have made him a Master." The Sith grinned. "Well done. Cody! I trust you will keep the lightsaber then?"

"I had hoped to, sir, yes."

"It's yours. Don't go too crazy with it, Cody. We'll continue your training when I return, just be careful. You may be good, but you'll never equal a Force sensitive when it comes to the lightsaber." The clone nodded, saluting as he did so. "Any other news?"

"We've destroyed two Republic Star Destroyers, the Defender and the Redeemer, and we have captured the capital city of Lessu." Cody deactivated the lightsaber and clipped it to his armor. "Emir Tambor is...difficult. He's sending the droids to pillage the Twi'lek homes for things of value."

Kenobi scoffed. "As if they Twi'lek's have anything of value. What is the point in that? The only things of value on Ryloth are spice and the Twi'lek's themselves, they make perfect slaves." The Sith Lord laughed softly. "Better to ride the storm than defeat it, so the Twi'lek saying goes. Their temperament makes them ideal for servitude."

"Yes, my men have been seeing plenty of that. Ride the storm indeed, they have been seducing my men."

"I bet they have." Kenobi took a deep breath, looked to the door when he heard more shouting. "I'm bothered by Tambor's actions. The Twi'lek's may be ideal slaves, but even slaves revolt."

"Shall we put an end to him?"

"No..." Kenobi said slowly. "Tell him that Obi-Wan Kenobi disapproves of abusing our resources. If he doesn't comply, destroy his droids, call for reenforcements that answer to your command and imprison him on the Liberator. A little time next to Master Koth may remind him of what I can do to those that defy me." Kenobi frowned. "The Republic certainly won't stand for this, not if Tambor is creating a problem because he's an idiot."

"His actions have caused even some of the Twi'lek's to rebel. Some have organized into a resistance group that is working with the Republic forces to liberate their home world. They've managed to secure aid shipments from the Senate, so yes, I'd say the Republic is invested in success here on Ryloth."

"Hmm..." Obi-Wan steepled his fingers and brought them to his lips. He could crush Ryloth, but it seemed very likely that the Republic would send their very best to secure the struggling planet, especially after Tambor had managed to make enemies of the native population. "Have you infiltrated the Republic ranks?"

"Yes, sir."

"And what have we heard?"

"Waxer says that two more Star Destroyers are incoming, the Tranquility and the Resolute."

"Luminara and Qui-Gon..." the Sith growled, closing his eyes and centering in the Force for guidance. "Expect no less than four more Jedi to Ryloth. Luminara Unduli, Barris Offee, Qui-Gon Jinn and Anakin Skywalker."

Cody frowned. "Jinn and Skywalker have been victorious in nearly every battle they participate in. I'd say it was luck, but those boys are just good."

"The Force is with them, of course they are good..." He tapped his finger on his cheek as he ran through the multitude of ways this situation could be handled, but the Force dragging his attention elsewhere. "It may be worthwhile to withdraw from Ryloth."

"Sir, we can win if you-"

"No, something doesn't feel right..." Kenobi whispered, biting his lip and looking away from the clone. "There's something wrong, something..." He shook his head. "Let Tambor throw his full might against the Jedi. We lose nothing by losing droids, but I won't have Skywalker murder my clones. Withdraw your men before they get there, and when you pull out, bring the Twi'leks. I believe they can be of use to me."

Cody grinned. "They're proving to be of use to my men as well."

"You know, Cody, if your men were in want of pleasure slaves, you only needed to ask."

"That's an admittedly awkward thing to discuss with your commanding officer, my Lord."

Kenobi rolled his eyes. "Yes, but I'm also your friend. Enslave the population, pull out, and return to Mustafar. I imagine I will be making my way back there soon."

"Things sorted out with the Mandalorian?"

"Hardly," he growled, and Cody laughed heartily. "It isn't funny, Cody."

"With all due respect, sir, it really is."

"I have other matters to attend to besides Satine Kryze," he growled between clenched teeth. "If she is going to be stubborn, I have plenty of other paths I need to take." He gripped the holocron tightly in his hand. "Like unlocking this thing. I need to capture a new Jedi."

"Any Jedi, sir?"

"Any Jedi would suffice, but this isn't a matter of convenience, Cody." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, reaching into the Force and summoning the vision of the field of dead Jedi and the two that stood among them. This was important. He could feel it. "Every action we take must further our future goals. The Jedi I want must be able to open the holocron, provide me with suitable practice, shake the faith in the Jedi and damage the Republic's effectiveness." Surrounding himself with the Force, the answer became clear. "Find and locate Jedi Master Shaak Ti. She will serve my purposes. You'll be looking for a female Togruta."

Cody smirked. "Are you looking to keep a pleasure slave for yourself, my Lord?"

"Hardly," the Sith scoffed, his golden eyes darting to the door when it opened and the Duchess strolled in. "I've no interest in such things. I've had a vision that leads me to believe that a Togruta female may be important."

"And you think she's the one?"

"I don't know, Cody, but that particular list is a short one, and she is by far the most dangerous of them. Find her."

"It will be done, sir," the clone said, saluting.

"I need to go. How long do you suppose it will take you to withdraw from Ryloth?" he asked, rising to his feet and watching Satine as she walked to stand behind an armchair, grasping the back of it with her delicate hands.

"A few days, at most. The problem will be getting Tambor to do as you asked."

"Remember what I said about him. I'm willing to surrender the planet to cull that Skakoan, and I need to make Dooku remember how miserable I can make him if he crosses me. Which he has."

Cody laughed, but all Kenobi could look at was the deep frown and narrowed eyes of Satine Kryze. "I'll have it done, my Lord. I'll see you on Mustafar." The hologram flicked off as the com cut, and Obi-Wan tucked the device back into his robes, avoiding Satine's piercing glare.

"You are quite the General now, aren't you, Obi-Wan?"

"Someone needs to be..."

She glared at him. "That mentality is exactly the problem, this is why talks have failed."

"No, talks failed because there is no easy solution to this problem."

"Of course there isn't an easy solution! But simply going to war over it is unacceptable! This war is an affront to life itself!"

Kenobi groaned. "Did you not just hear me order my troops to withdraw? And lest you forget, love, I fought for peace and negotiations even after the war began!"

"And now you are a warrior!" Her hands clenched on the back of the seat. "You sat there and talked about making people suffer!"

"To ease further suffering!" he cried, groaning as he dropped back to the couch. "Wat Tambor is a self-indulgent, disgusting waste with no regard for sentient life at all. He is, in short, a monster on a Separatist payroll, and you want to defend him?"

"I'm not defending him, I'm decrying your actions! Since when have you been a man to make excuses!"

Kenobi ran a hand down his face. "I can't do this, not again. We disagree on the war, we have always done so, and we will talk circles around each other for days on this matter and make no headway at all. I'm trying to fight for peace."

"Fight for peace?" She laughed without mirth. "What an amusing contradiction."

"And I will continue to do so, despite your objection! This isn't what's keeping us apart, Satine!" Obi-Wan watched her hold her breath, her feelings shifting to passionate and angry to uncertain and pained. "Can we please put aside politics, they are making the situation worse."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously, her pale skin flushed with anger as she quickly became indignant, and Obi-Wan winced. No matter what, it never seemed to be the right thing to say. "This is exactly what's keeping us apart!" she cried. "If you were a Jedi, you would be a peacekeeper!"

"The Jedi," he growled, "aren't peacekeepers in this war, they are generals. Were I still a Jedi, we would be having this exact same conflict because you seem to fail to understand that the greatest ally of peace is the power to utterly annihilate any threat that may arise!"

"If you were still a Jedi, we wouldn't be having this trouble at all because you wouldn't have messed with my mind! We wouldn't even be together because of that cold Code they follow!"

"And you should be grateful I left, Satine! I left for you."

The Duchess laughed loudly. "Do you honestly think I believe you would leave the Jedi for me? You were never so inclined, you left them to further your own powers because the Jedi constricted you!" Kenobi grit his teeth, his hand balling into a fist as his muscles screamed with tension. She was right, of course, and he felt immediately foolish for thinking for a moment that Satine would believe he would abandon his values for love. She certainly wouldn't, so why should he?

"If you think," he began again more calmly than before, "that I haven't sacrificed so that I may be with you-"

"You haven't," she hissed. "You have everything you can possibly want. You have power and influence and people that adore you, and I have overlooked how cruel you have become, how violent your precious Force has made you."

"I suffered for all of that!" Kenobi shouted, rising to his feet, grasping at the Force in his fury, and the woman across from him withdrew slightly upon seeing the rage build within him, but it was only for a moment, and she quickly returned his wrathful gaze.

"And I objected to that as well! I never wanted you to suffer at the hands of a cruel Master, I never wanted you to suffer at all. You have endured so much pain, Obi-Wan, when is it time for it to end? When are you going to leave the Sith?!"

"I'm not going to, I am Sith at heart, just as you are Mandalorian, we cannot escape the truths of our natures!"

"Only I have changed Mandalore! We aren't the warriors we once were!"

Kenobi laughed harshly. "Oh, yes you are. Satine, as much as you want to deny it, you are just as Mandalorian as the greatest of your historical Mand'alors! That you have exchanged the sword for words as your weapon of choice is incidental, you are a warrior."

"And so we have changed! When will you change the Sith!"

"When I am Lord of the Sith, I-"

"Lord of the Sith..." she said smoothly, her voice dripping with contempt, and Kenobi couldn't help but shiver. "I told you, violence isn't the answer, I don't want you to kill him!"

"Fine, I won't," Obi-Wan said in satisfaction, a cocky smirk on his face. "Are you pleased now?"

"No."

"I suspect you will never be pleased."

"I will be pleased when you leave that Master of yours."

"Alright, fine." His golden eyes narrowed. "I'll leave the Sith. But you must renounce your claim to Mandalore." That had the intended effect, and the woman drew back, shock and disbelief on her angular face.

"You want me to just abandon my duty? You know I cannot!"

"Of course you can! You are asking the exact same thing of me!"

"It's not the same!"

"It is!" the Sith snarled, much more angry and aggressive than he had intended. "My duty and my loyalty is to the Sith, as yours is to the people of Mandalore! You and I have always put our duty before all else. You don't get to decide that mine is less than yours just because you don't like what I must do! Consider this, Satine, not once have I attempted to sway you or your systems to my side because I know how important your neutrality is to you!"

"Maybe so," she said softly, looking away for a moment before furious blue eyes locked with the Sith's. "But you swayed me."

"I said I was sorry..."

"It isn't enough!"

Obi-Wan sighed, running a hand through his sandy blond hair. This was the heart of the issue, finally, and it felt good to be away from the mess of politics and obligation. "I want you to consider something for me, Satine." When her eyes narrowed, he put up his hands as if in surrender. "There is a point to this, I swear it." Obi-Wan held his breath when she didn't move at all, but the fact that she didn't respond or argue seemed like a positive. Slowly, she inclined her head, so slightly it was barely perceivable. "Consider for a moment that you discovered that you could manipulate the Force. That you had a connection to that which binds us all together."

"You are diverting away from the point."

"I am not! You are not letting me talk." Her eyes narrowed, but Satine was silent. "Then," Kenobi continued softly, "you found out that your particular talent with the Force was being...distressingly convincing. Through the Force, you could make anyone believe anything, for a time, and if you exerted your influence often enough, those beliefs could become permanent."

"You're discounting a person's free will! That is deplorable."

"And yet you, my love, favor no side but your own. What we do is the same thing, only I am more effective." He could see her jaw clench, could feel her tension through the Force, but still she listened. It was an improvement. "Now, I want you to imagine what you could do with that kind of power. What if you could just walk into the Senate and tell them that the war was wrong, and they'd all believe it. What if you could simply command the Confederacy to call off their battle droids, and they would obey. What if, Satine, you could force galactic peace in the matter of minutes, if only you just put those powers to use. Would you do it?"

"...it can't be that simple."

"But it is. With the right tools and the right power, the galaxy could be peaceful. You could exert your pacifist will on any who opposed you, any who looked to create strife and conflict, and they would be instantly complacent. You could do it to me. You could tell me to leave the Sith, and without question, I would obey." Satine bit her lip and looked away, and through the Force, Kenobi could feel her anger give way to temptation.

"...no," she finally whispered. "No, that defeats the purpose of what we have, Obi-Wan..."

"I know it does, which is why I haven't done it more than once."

"But you did it."

"In a moment of weakness, yes..." He sighed. "There is always temptation with the Dark Side. Learning to temper that is a part of our training."

"Which is why you need to leave."

"Which is why I can't," he insisted. "I have much to learn from my Master."

"So you will endure more torture?!"

"To assume control, to ensure your safety, yes. I do not fear pain, Satine."

The Duchess scoffed. "You fear so little. Have you abandoned your plans to kill him, then?"

"For the moment..." he drawled, taking a furtive step closer, but the woman took an equal step back. "We will be partners moving forwards."

"And yet he is your Master."

"For now."

"You are not partners if you call him Master, Obi-Wan! You clearly still have motivation to kill him. Are you stronger?"

"Not yet..."

"Then how. How do you suppose to do this thing?!" Kenobi groaned and gripped his head. The Force was...disturbed. Something was happening, something...

"I told you, when I have learned all I can, he and I will be partners. Killing him will not be a necessity when we are on equal footing."

"Killing him should not be necessary ever! Obi-Wan, this Master of yours, or the Force, or the Sith, they have corrupted you! You used to be a man committed to peace! You claim to be a negotiator, and yet you say you can't leave!"

Kenobi grit his teeth and held his breath, tuning out the Force as it screamed within him. "Allow me to explain something, Satine. You may sit here with your policy of non-violence, but that isn't how this galaxy works! People like you, who are unwilling to fight, will be trampled by those strong enough to take what you have."

"Even extremists can be reasoned with, they-"

"They cannot!" the Sith shouted, snatching the cuboidal holocron from the couch and gripping it so tightly the golden edges sliced into his hand and quickly stained the blue box with blood. "It's great that you have worked for and fought for peace on Mandalore, Satine, but none of this would have been possible without the war that killed the majority of those that opposed you! Being a pacifist when everything is at peace is easy!"

"You think doing what I have done is easy?!"

"No, it isn't, but doing it now is impossible!" he snarled, stepping toward her when she stepped back, blood dripping on to the marble floor. "Let me explain what will happen if I leave the Sith for you. My Master will torture me. There will be no questions asked, he will have no qualms about doing it, and attempts to reason with him will result in the extension of the agony from weeks to months. But first," he hissed, swiftly reaching out to grab her chin with his hand, the woman not quick or strong enough to pull away, "first, he will kill you, and he will make me watch it, so I can understand what my weakness will bring upon me." The golden eyes darkened, sensing cold fear and dread fill the woman. "He no doubt sees you as a weakness. He probably allows me to keep you because he believes he can control me, and at any time, Satine, at any time, he may order me to kill you so that I may be rid of everything I used to be, and the only thing I can do is hope that I will be strong enough to kill him when he does."

"Obi-Wan..." she said slowly, her voice shaking as she lightly brushed the hand tightly gripping her with her fingertips. "What have you gotten yourself into..."

"This is what I wanted," Kenobi growled, releasing her and stepping away, dropping the bloody holocron into his pack by the couch. "As you said, this is what I wanted, so no, Satine. I'm not leaving the Sith. Not now. Not ever."

There was silence after that. For a long while, Obi-Wan looked at his hand, drawing upon the Force to heal the wounds, feeling the disturbance, diverting his attention to attend to it. Satine would either be with him in this, or she would not, and if not, Obi-Wan saw little choice but to leave her. It wasn't what he wanted, but deep inside him, the small piece of the Jedi that remained knew that to keep her safe, he would have to let her go.

"So..." she began softly, her voice cold and distant, and Kenobi felt his chest tighten. "I am just to accept this? You are asking me to sacrifice my values to be with a man that amounts to a murderer, and you will do nothing in return."

"Satine, if you can't see-"

"The Sith have made you cruel and violent," the Duchess said, her voice quivering with emotion that she fought to hold back. "You used to be a peacekeeper, Obi, you used to be a good man!"

"You're right," the Sith said softly, his features almost sad. "You have enemies, Satine, and your enemies aren't going to want to negotiate, and they won't want to be reasoned with, because sometimes, all someone wants is to watch everything around them burn. Sometimes, all these people want is your power, your position, or just revenge, and your peaceful ideals will just make it easier for them to get what they want. Maybe not now, but one day, Satine, you're going to be glad to have a man like me around, because I'm the sort of bad man that keeps worse men away from you."

The door hissed open before she could respond, and the meek, hooded Mandalorian Senator Tal Merrik stepped into the room, and Kenobi swiftly turned away, teeth clenched as he focused on the Force and the warnings it whispered. "Am I...interrupting, Duchess?" the Senator asked, and Satine shook her head.

"Not at all. What is it?"

Merrik wrung his hands together. "A Jedi is here to see you on the behalf of the Republic. He's come with some...distressing accusations." The Duchess narrowed her eyes.

"What accusations?"

Before he could answer, Kenobi reeled on him and asked in a deep, smooth voice, "What Jedi." Merrik didn't need to answer the question. The Force did it, the Sith's mind igniting in feelings of loss and longing and anger and betrayal, a mired, confusing mess of emotions that set the Dark Side snarling to life with hatred and rage, and suddenly, Satine seemed so much less important. Qui-Gon Jinn was here, and nothing else mattered.