AN: I absolutely cannot believe I got out a chapter every day this week. My week has been CRAZY, eighty hours of work. I sure do hope you guys appreciate this!

Chapter 49: Death Watch

Obi-Wan sat cross-legged on the floor just in front of the cockpit, his golden eyes narrowed in focus as he stared at Qui-Gon Jinn, who sat similarly on the other end of the corridor. Only twenty feet separated them, but to Kenobi, the gap felt simultaneously so much smaller and so much larger. Neither man had spoken when Qui-Gon stepped beside the Sith Lord as he waited to board the royal shuttle that would bear him to Concordia, and neither man could gage the other's emotions or thoughts through perfectly constructed Force walls, though it was not for lack of effort. Even now, Kenobi could feel the Jedi's presence around him, calm and soothing and coaxing him to lower his defenses and allow him in, but the Sith Lord was having none of it. Similarly, attempts to break the Jedi's mind were met with mild amusement on the part of the older man, which only served to enrage Obi-Wan, but unlike normal circumstances, the Dark Side did not rise to feed on his anger and hatred. The Dark Side was silent.

It was an odd sensation that made Kenobi more cautious and interested than anything else. He could feel the Dark Side within him in abundance, but it was still, as if it had no interest in heeding the Sith's command. It wasn't that he couldn't. Focused, Obi-Wan could coax the darkness to stir, feel it rise blazing within him and filling him with unlimited power. But when he turned his gaze on Qui-Gon, despite the strength of the Dark Side, it hissed in warning and recoiled. Despite his anger with his old Master, despite the desire to hurt the man beyond all comprehension, despite his consuming need to break his mind until there was nothing left, the Dark Side that usually supported his urges drove him to keep his distance. Any rage felt toward Qui-Gon was quickly met with a warning by the Force until Kenobi's anger slowly faded into curiosity as he submitted to the will of the Force.

This Jedi's continued existence went beyond simply saving Satine and Mandalore, it was the will of the Force that he survive, though Obi-Wan couldn't understand why. Qui-Gon's betrayal had sent him down a dark path and led him right into the embrace of Darth Sidious, so why would the Dark Side deny itself in this manner. He steadied himself, breathing deeply and surrendered himself to the Force, reaching out toward Qui-Gon, and he could feel the Dark Side snaking deep within him, reaching out to the Jedi and calling the Force to take him. The Force obeyed, and within moments, visions ran through Kenobi's mind, swirling shadows slowly taking form as the haze cleared.

All Obi-Wan saw was Qui-Gon, the Jedi standing tall and silent in a black abyss, his face relaxed, his demeanor calm, and with a deep breath, Kenobi cautiously drew closer, the Force strained with tension at his approach, but he ignored the warning and pressed forward. Kenobi's eyes began to sting, watering as he came nearly close enough to touch, and reaching out to him, the Jedi smiled sadly before he began to fade, the color leaving his face and robes until he was ghostly white in the moments before he disappeared. After that, there was nothing but pain. Even through the vision, Obi-Wan's consciousness felt the agony that wracked his body as the abyss erupted into flames, the inferno engulfing him and forming into the shifting, screaming face that he so often saw, but now, it was clearer. Kenobi still could not recognize who it was, but he could see him now, his skin bubbling and blistering as it was burned, the eyes a haunting yellow ringed with red, and when he looked upon it, Obi-Wan felt betrayal.

Kenobi gasped loudly as the Force threw him back into himself to find that he was doubled over upon the cold, hard floor, clutching his sides as pain lanced through his body as the Dark Side snarled and writhed, punishing him for ignoring the warnings to keep away. He opened his eyes to find that Qui-Gon had scooted closer to him, the Jedi's face cold and impassive, but he could feel him reaching out with concern. Kenobi closed his eyes again and imagined the Jedi's death, only to be met with more pain. Imagining his capture, dismemberment, or disfigurement met with the same results. The Force didn't just want Jinn alive, it wanted him left alone. He often didn't know what to expect of the visions he so often had, but this one was more confusing than the rest. Qui-Gon was holding back something awful, and that thing appeared to be Sith so...

So why did he feel so much apprehension about it?

"Are you alright?" Qui-Gon asked softly when Kenobi pushed himself up to his knees, the Sith glowering at the Jedi in response. The Jedi inclined his head. "Do you have visions often?"

"Wouldn't you like to know."

"I would."

"And I would like silence until we reach Concordia," Kenobi growled, closing his eyes and sinking back into the Force once again, but Qui-Gon's presence reached out to touch him, and Obi-Wan found it so blindingly bright it brought him out of his focus and made him center on the Jedi. Qui-Gon simply smiled.

"Are you aware that there's a very high likelihood that Death Watch is being supported by the Separatists?" The Sith didn't answer, and Qui-Gon took that to mean that he needed to explain. "They were attacking Republic ships, you see, and now that the neutral systems are facing attacks by a group that seems to be linked to the Confederacy, the Republic will feel compelled to send aid."

Kenobi narrowed his eyes in anger. "I know that. Do you take me for a fool?"

"Not usually, but I have been wrong before." He sat up straighter when the Sith Lord clenched his jaw tightly. "If we find the Death Watch to be supported by your military, what will you do?"

"We are not partners in this, Qui-Gon, and when we reach Concordia, I expect you to wait right here. You have no place here, you should have stayed behind to protect Satine." The Sith's hands tightened on his knees. "But since you are foolishly present, stop asking about my plans."

"You would prefer me to work on my own then?" Kenobi's chest tightened in rage when he looked at the smirking Jedi. Qui-Gon was calm, collected, confident, and it was everything he shouldn't have been. His former Master should be quaking in fear, or wracked with guilt, or worried for his life, or anything but what he was. And yet, there he sat, the very image of a Jedi Master, one with the Force and unafraid. Qui-Gon never had the gift of foresight, as he existed in the present more than any other Jedi Kenobi had ever known, so he couldn't have seen the visions that were saving him. So why was he like this? The Jedi must have known something, there must have been something else. Visions could have more than one meaning, perhaps it was showing him something beyond the face in flames.

"Evidence of Separatist involvement is compelling," the Sith finally said. "But it isn't enough. I need proof, which should be easy enough for me to obtain."

"You can't just go and read the minds of everyone on Concordia."

Kenobi rolled his eyes. "Kriffing Sith Hells, Qui-Gon, you treat me like I'm an amateur. I have been doing this for a long time now. Anyone can just run in and take what they want and leave no impact at all, but I get results that last by creating a culture of terror, and that doesn't happen randomly."

The Jedi nodded in what appeared to be approval. "So nobody will die?"

"Not needlessly..."

"So what will you do?"

"I don't know, Qui-Gon," Kenobi snapped, finally getting to his feet and putting as much distance between him and the Jedi that he could. It wasn't much, and certainly not enough to calm the frantic warnings of the Force when his temper rose. "I will talk to Concordia's governor and see what I can gather from him. Pre Vizsla is an outspoken supporter of Satine's government, so he should be able to point us in the right direction."

"Satine spoke highly of him before I left. She counts him among her most trusted allies."

Kenobi scoffed. "Because Satine is an idealistic fool." Qui-Gon arched an eyebrow.

"You doubt his intentions? Have you met him?"

"No, but something doesn't feel right. It's no coincidence that the Mandalorian warriors were exiled to Concordia, and now we are sent there investigating a public attack. Vizsla is either directly involved, or he's being used by someone who is. Either way, he's connected."

"I can't imagine the Duchess will approve if harm is to come to him."

"I don't care what Satine thinks!" Kenobi's fist struck the wall, the durasteel easily denting under the force of it, which caused several maintenance droids to roll out from the cargo bay. They quickly scattered away when one of them was grabbed with the Force and quickly crushed down into a dense cube and hurled down the hallway after the retreating droids. "Her views are foolish and misguided! One cannot have peace without the will and the power to enforce it. Since her way has failed, we will do things my way. And besides..." he growled, running his hand over the indent he had created. "This isn't about her anymore. You are likely correct about a Separatist link, which means that someone on my side is messing with me directly, and nobody gets to do that."

Qui-Gon's eyes lit with understanding as he rose to his feet as well. "You are going to play nice with the Governor in the hopes that he will reveal his Separatist benefactor."

"There is no hope involved, he will reveal what I need to know." Kenobi's face seemed to darken as he stepped closer to the Jedi. "Just as you will." Qui-Gon took a step back as the Sith Lord advanced. "There's something inside you, Qui-Gon, something I haven't seen before in anyone. What have you done?" A secretive smile passed over the Jedi's lips, but he said nothing. Kenobi snarled in frustration. "I get what I want, Qui-Gon, I always get what I want, and if you don't give me my answers, I will tear them from you!"

"You will do no such thing," he said calmly, and despite the Force howling in warning, the Sith's rage continued to rise. Before Qui-Gon could move or even sense it coming, and before Obi-Wan could stop himself, the Sith's foot connected with the back of the Jedi's leg and the Master's knees slammed onto the floor with the thick sound of a harsh impact, and Qui-Gon winced in pain, feeling dark bruises already beginning to form. He gasped in pain when a black boot stepped hard on the back of his calf, keeping him from moving as long fingers wrapped into his hair and roughly pulled his head back, the Jedi forced to look up into yellow eyes that blazed with a seemingly infinite well of hatred and rage.

"Look at you, Qui-Gon..." the Sith whispered. "You've become so...old."

"The same cannot be said of you, Obi-Wan," Jinn said softly, calmly, and he felt the fist in his hair tighten. "You look no older than the last time I saw you before you fell to the Dark Side." This time, he frowned. "How is it possible? How are you doing it? What have you become? I've been trying to sort it out since I came here to Mandalore." A sly grin spread across the Jedi's face. "I'll share what I've done if you do the same."

The Sith laughed harshly, pulling the Jedi's head back further and poising his fingers just above his forehead. "I don't share, Qui-Gon. As I've said, I take what I want." Against the warnings of the Force, Obi-Wan fueled his anger and drove the Dark Side into the Jedi Master, meeting with the insurmountable defense and tightly grabbed at his protected mind, increasing the force of his grasp in an attempt to crush the Jedi's will as he had so many others, driven to continue when he saw Qui-Gon's face narrow in intense focus and pain as he resisted. Then, without warning, the Jedi Master relaxed, a calm ease settling over him as he suddenly let go of his defenses, and the Sith fell uncontrolled into his mind.

The sinister delight was a fleeting moment when Kenobi was met with searing light, his ability to read thoughts, emotions, intentions and memories burned out of him as he was blinded by a brightness greater than any sun, greater than a thousand suns, and for only a moment, Obi-Wan could see infinity, the breath of the Force itself within the Jedi Master. The Jedi was one with the Force, as expected from a Jedi Master, but it wasn't in the same way that Obi-Wan himself was one with it. The young Sith was an open conduit, and instrument of the will of the Force, but this Jedi was something more. He was the Force. Every cell in his body seemed to be in open surrender to the Force that would one day take him, as if they had already surrendered their physical state to become pure energy.

Then, he felt himself begin to burn, the white light enveloping him and bringing the Sith nothing but pain, and though he tried to withdraw, the Force held him there, exacting its revenge on the Sith's blatant disregard of its warnings. Kenobi's consciousness began to fade, and the Dark Side took over, tearing the Sith away from the Jedi Master and throwing himself against the bulkhead, the furthest distance he could get from the source of his pain, but it was not far enough. Back pressed against the cold metal, hands splayed out by his sides, Kenobi slowly regained control, breathing hard and focus returning, but the pain in his mind and the warnings of the Force still remained.

"What are you?" the Sith gasped, watching the Jedi slowly rise to his feet, a hand on the wall to aid him. He didn't need Qui-Gon to say anything for him to know the answer. Within the Jedi, Obi-Wan had seen eternity. Perhaps the Force wasn't warning him not to kill the old Master, but telling him that he couldn't. It seemed as though the Jedi had discovered what Darth Sidious could not, and Kenobi couldn't help but feel terribly impressed.

"I suspect," Qui-Gon said slowly, "that you and I have discovered different ways to a similar end, but I have no use for eternal youth." The Jedi smiled and stopped talking, the implication clear. Eternal youth meant nothing in the face of eternal life.

"Shall we test your dedication then?" Obi-Wan said dangerously, but he could not keep the resistance out of his voice, and the Jedi simply nodded.

"If you like. I will not fight you, Obi-Wan. I'm not here for that, and I can sense your hesitation. You won't kill me."

"You think me weak."

"No, I think you intelligent. You have always been reasonable and mindful of the Force, Obi-Wan. You have changed a great deal, but not in this." The Sith did not respond as he cautiously eyed the Jedi. "So let me ask you again. What is your plan?"

Qui-Gon Jinn was no ally, that was certain, but neither did he seem to be an enemy. He wasn't acting like a Jedi, but he never had. Slowly, Kenobi said, "The plan has changed. You will meet with Pre Vizsla. No doubt he is expecting you, since Satine holds him in confidence, and I believe she contacted him to inform him of the events that happened in Sundari."

The Jedi nodded. "She did."

"Then you will meet with him and learn what you can. As I'm sure you know, even lies reveal pieces of the truth. See what you can put together."

"I will. And you?"

Kenobi smirked. "I will conduct my own investigation. It should not be difficult for me to find the Death Watch."

Qui-Gon nodded. "How shall we keep in touch?"

"You and I once shared a Force bond. The connection should be easy to reestablish."

The Jedi held his breath, a slow smile on his face as he exhaled. "If you believe I am stupid enough to allow you inside my mind, Sith Lord, than you are sorely mistaken." Kenobi tensed, and Qui-Gon could feel the boy's anger, knowing he hit on the truth of the Sith's intentions. He would have to be mindful to keep his guard up. "We'll see if we can borrow comlinks and earpieces from the droids in the hold. They should have them somewhere on the ship."

Obi-Wan crossed his arms and slid down the wall, eyes closed as he reached back into the Force. "You better do that. I don't deal with droids."

"An unusual sentiment for a Separatist commander," the Jedi mused, smiling softly as he walked past the Sith Apprentice.

Kenobi watched from the transport as Qui-Gon greeted the striking Pre Vizsla, the man tall with pale blond hair, like many Mandalorians. He appeared genial and good-natured, but Obi-Wan sensed deception in his every word, his every gesture. Vizsla was involved in this matter, of this he was certain, and it was confirmed when the body of the bomber was pushed off the ship on a hovertable. The Concordian didn't display anger or sadness or any of the emotions that typically accompanied grief. He was, instead, proud. When the governor and his retinue led Qui-Gon out of the hanger and into the estate the man held his office in, Kenobi snuck off the ship, hood pulled over his head and striding past the droids that wheeled about preforming maintenance and routine checks on the ships and speeders in the bay.

The Sith mounted one of the speeders and effortlessly turned it on, the motor humming and purring beneath him as he gently hit the throttle, bringing the single-rider craft slowly to the bay doors as he acquainted himself with the controls. He revved the engines, thrusting the accelerator to its maximum speed, and jolted out into Concordia's twilight. The terrain was rough and rocky, the result of the moon having been mined to exhaustion by Mandalorians during the civil war, the soil once rich with minerals used in the crafting of weapons and armor, but now the earth remained barren and bereft, the thick forests that once covered the planet only just now beginning to regrow some twenty years later.

Which was why Obi-Wan found it excessively odd that, from their approach to the governor's palace, he could see smoke from a distant mining facility. Using the Force to guide him, he easily found his way to the enormous factory, the gates around it sealed tightly as if the building had been abandoned and condemned, despite the smoke that rose from towering chimneys. Closing his eyes and reaching through the Force, he could feel life teeming within the compound, both in the mining facility and under the ground beneath him, where the Force seemed to pull him to. If he were to find Death Watch, that is where they would be. Bending his knees, Obi-Wan effortlessly jumped over the gate, landing softly on the loose, disrupted earth on the other side and smirking when he saw footprints clearly in the trodden soil.

He stood, brushing himself off and made his way to an elevator shaft that stood taped off on the side of the building, the elevator's compartment laying broken and disconnected to the side. He looked down and breathed deeply, and earthy, smoky air filled his lungs. Kenobi maneuvered a rock around the ground with the tip of his boot, and kicked it down the shaft, counting softly until he heard the strike and echo when it had hit the bottom. It was a long drop, but not impossible to make. Taking his lightsaber in his hand, Obi-Wan stepped off the edge, his heart beating in his chest at the exhilaration of free falling and the air whipping around him as he dropped. Feeling the bottom draw near, he activated the lightsaber, the hiss of the burning plasma echoing loudly around him, and he drove it into the wall, slowing his fall just enough for him to plant his feet and leap off the side, slowing his momentum enough to land with barely a sound on the bottom.

He deactivated his saber, but the sound of it humming and hissing still reverberated in the air. He could feel darkness here, anger and hatred and unchecked aggression and a passion for violence that drew the Dark Side like a quickly moving current, and with a deep breath, Kenobi opened himself to it, feeling the change in the flow of the Force as it was drawn into him like a vortex. Empowered, he walked down the hall at a leisurely pace, remaining vigilant of the life around him to prevent any sort of defensive measures that the beings may have had in place, but Obi-Wan could already sense that there was nothing. He headed toward the low buzz of a dozen conversations coming from a large room that was helpfully labeled as the processing plant, and as if he belonged there, Kenobi stepped inside.

There were perhaps only fifty people within the room, but they all noticed the second he entered, and within moments, fifty weapons were trained on the Sith Lord, and he couldn't help but smile in delight as he faced down the warriors, each and every one of them clad in blue and white Mandalorian armor, the symbol of the Death Watch emblazoned on their shoulders. He raised his hands in surrender when he heard the high whine of the blasters as they were primed for fire.

"I don't recommend doing something so foolish as opening fire on me," he said smoothly, barely able to keep the laughter out of his voice. One of the warriors stepped forward, his weapon raised.

"Who are you, and why are you here?" he demanded, and Obi-Wan's sharp eyes followed soldiers as they ran along the upper catwalks of the processing plant to surround him.

"I'm the Negotiator," Kenobi said, his smile showing from under the shadows of his hood, and the man that had stepped forward lowered his weapon.

"The Negotiator?" the man repeated, and the Sith nodded. "As in, Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Separatist leader?"

"Do you know of another Negotiator?" he asked, chuckling softly as blasters were lowered and he heard the dull whine of the charges powering down as the tension in the room dissipated. They were not expecting him, obviously, but like expected, it seemed that Death Watch was familiar with the Separatists. "I'm hear to speak with your leader."

"He is not in the compound." Kenobi frowned. That seemed to lend credence to the idea that Vizsla was the leader around here.

"Your second in command, then. And be quick about it." The soldier seemed to bristle, but he swiftly turned to the soldiers behind him.

"Jor'chaajir cuun alor bal rejorhaa'ir tion'ad cuyir olar," he barked, and the soldiers nodded. "Slanar ve'ganir te vod." The Mandalorians scattered, and Kenobi pulled back his hood, staring straight ahead and feigning a lack of understanding. They were contacting their leader to inform him of the new arrival, and they were summoning the second in command. If Vizsla was in charge here, Obi-Wan would hear about it from Qui-Gon very, very soon. "You are..." the guard stated, looking the Sith Lord over, "far younger than I would have thought you'd be, my Lord."

Lord was good, it denoted respect, so the Separatists were held in high regard. Kenobi felt himself boil. The Separatist Council didn't actually know about his involvement in Mandalore, and if they did, they didn't show it. If they did, they would have known to stay far, far away. This could have been a simple mistake, one of the fools among Separatist leadership simply overreaching his bounds to grab at an easy target. They'd have to be punished, of course, but it didn't need to be prolonged.

"Yes, I get that a lot." He didn't want to speak to this cretin. Moving his fingers at his side and calling on the Force, he said, "Leave me, and tell your friends to do the same. I'll only speak to your leaders." The soldier stiffened, stood still for a moment, and then dragged his feet away, ordering the soldiers to follow him, and slowly, the space was cleared, the soldiers departing to the far side of the massive complex to give the Sith the space he required. Kenobi put his earpiece in and tapped the comlink on his wrist, and Qui-Gon picked up immediately.

"I was about to contact you," the Jedi whispered. "Vizsla just left in a hurry, he said he had urgent business."

Kenobi scoffed, keeping his voice low, looking to the soldiers to be certain he was not heard. "How careless. This Death Watch of his won't last long. Honestly, allowing a Jedi Master to be alone in his home..."

"Oh, is this the part where we joke about the bad situation? You know things only get worse when we do that."

"The urgent business is me. I believe that confirms our theory. Snoop around and see what you can find."

"Can you handle them on your own?" the Jedi asked, and Kenobi chuckled quietly.

"Qui-Gon Jinn, I am in no danger here. I'll transfer the coordinates of my location to your com, come to me when you are done with your investigation." He shut off the com before Qui-Gon could answer when a woman with shoulder-length red hair quickly walked toward him, a helmet tucked under her arm. She stopped before him, her green eyes narrowed as she examined him, and she frowned.

"How did you manage to fool my men, Jedi?" she asked, her voice harsh, and Obi-Wan looked at her in surprise. Did this woman have the Force? He didn't sense a command of the Force from her, so how? His stunned silence allowed her to easily read him, and she snapped, "The Mandalorian Civil War had two Jedi aiding Satine Kryze, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi. That's you, so I'll ask you again one more time." Her hands fell to the twin blasters at her hip and Kenobi couldn't help but grin. He liked this woman.

"That was me, yes, but I am obviously no longer a Jedi, since I fight against them now." He rolled his eyes. "Honestly, do pay attention."

"I don't deal with flippant fools," the woman growled, and Kenobi felt his patience thinning.

"Have I done something to offend you."

"Yes."

He hadn't expected an answer so quick and so final. "May I ask what?"

She crossed her arms over her chest, her hands leaving her weapons. "I'm Bo-Katan Kryze. Duchess Satine is my sister, and she never stopped talking about you after the war." Despite himself, Kenobi couldn't help himself from grinning, and the woman's mouth turned up in a sneer of disgust. "If it weren't for you, our people would still have their culture in tact! And now you dare join the opposition!" She scoffed. "Oh, if only she could see you now!"

"How does a fanatical pacifist have a warrior for a sister?" He didn't even know Satine had a sister. This may have been a rift too big to bridge, especially since Bo-Katan had joined with a group that seemed intent on killing Mandalore's ruler.

"The better question is how a good, powerful Mandalorian family came produce such a disgrace as Satine!"

"Bo, that's enough!" The voice came from behind the Sith, and he looked over his shoulder to see Pre Vizsla enter, Mandalorian armor on his body, a jetpack on his back, weapons at his hip, but without his helmet. He quickly took Obi-Wan's hand and shook it. Bo-Katan glared at them both. "I'm surprised that the Separatists would send someone so soon."

Kenobi shrugged. "I happened to be available, and we wanted to be certain that you are able to accomplish what you have set out to do."

"We can't trust him, Vizsla!" the redhead growled, but the man quickly silenced her with a vicious glare.

"I apologize for my subordinate..."

Kenobi smiled. "I appreciate a healthy amount of skepticism. Besides, she seems to know me from my time as a Jedi."

Vizsla nodded. "I looked you up on my way here. Your record is...impressive."

Kenobi bowed, smiling. "I do my best. Tell me about your plan, I'll see if I can't apply my expertise to help you achieve your goals, as we have promised."

"As you know, we don't have the numbers to support a hostile takeover of Mandalore, or we would have already."

Kenobi smiled softly. "It's so hard to get good help these days..."

"We need the support of the people, which means we have to turn them against Satine so her execution will be welcomed." Obi-Wan wore a mask of indifference as he allowed the Dark Side to feed on his emotions, the beast roaring to life and snarling and lusting for blood. It had to be controlled. He would heed the will of the Force, but he would exert dominion over the Dark Side when it sought to overtake him. "Originally, we had believed that the Separatists would simply support the overthrow of the Duchess, but..."

Kenobi smirked. "Outward show of force not so easy as you had hoped?"

Vizsla shook his head. "No, it was too brazen. And the people of Mandalore would never support us if the droid army just marched in. It would make us seem weak for needing you."

"But you do need us," Kenobi said pleasantly, smiling as he did, and Vizsla's eye twitched in irritation.

"Yes, we do need the aid...we aren't afraid to ask for help, and it seems you don't object to giving it, since we have promised you Mandalorian warriors to add to your cause." Obi-Wan almost laughed out loud. He had Mandalorian warriors, better than this sorry lot could ever be. He sized the Death Watch leader up and concluded that Cody could have easily taken him. The Sith waved his hand for the man to continue. "The plan now has been to get the Republic to come to Mandalore first when their weak regime fails to contain our threat. With a Republic invasion, the people will leave Satine and come to us."

"Which is where I come in," Kenobi said. He had a grasp on the situation now, and a growing hatred in the pit of his stomach. This plan was too complicated, too political to be the workings of anyone in the Separatist government but one. "This plan is rife with problems. All this will fail if the Republic doesn't send aid."

"There is a Jedi here right now investigating," Vizsla said proudly. "They have taken notice."

"And it will still fail if the Senate doesn't elect to send troops, and you know the Duchess will argue against such a motion."

"She'll never get to Coruscant to do that," Vizsla said, a superior smile on his face. "And Senator Merrik has been working closely with Death Watch for a long time. He'll plea to the Senate to send aid to Mandalore to help them deal with the insurgency. Dooku promised us that we will have Mandalore, and with this plan, we will."

That was all he needed. Kenobi's golden eyes began to burn with violence, a change so severe from his previous calm that even the Force insensitive Vizsla noticed and took a step back. "I think there's something you failed to take into account," Kenobi said smoothly, drawing closer to the Death Watch leader and his second in command. "What if Mandalore is protected?"

"It's not! Those pacifists won't raise a hand against us!"

"You're right about that," Kenobi chuckled. "But I will."

Bo-Katan and Vizsla fell to the ground in an instant, both of them screaming in agony as Obi-Wan let loose the Dark Side, and it tore through their bodies, setting every nerve within them on fire. The rest of the soldiers in the compound came rushing to aid their leaders, but as they drew close, they too were affected by the searing torture that the Dark Side wrought. A few soldiers tried to shoot at the Sith Lord from a distance, but found it a pointless endeavor when a red, glowing blade appeared in his hand and carelessly deflected every bolt back at the shooter.

"Oh no!" the Sith gasped in mock surprise, calling the darkness back to him and leaving the two leaders crippled and gasping on the ground before him. The Death Watch slowly advanced, weapons raised, but seeing their leaders in peril made them err on the side of caution instead of acting rashly. "What happened! Could it be that Mandalore is protected?" He laughed, pointing the humming blade at Bo-Katan. "You should have listened to her, Vizsla, she's smarter than you."

Bo-Katan gnashed her teeth together as she fought through the pain to rise, her hands grasping for her weapons only to find them torn from their holsters with a wave of the Sith's hand. "You protect my sister still?"

"Oh yes."

The younger Kryze smiled wickedly. "I was always led to believe that it was her dashing young Jedi protector that ravaged her and made her a woman." The Sith's cocky grin confirmed it. "You'd think she'd be less uptight having a creature like you inside her."

"It's a process."

Her eyes narrowed in anger. "She would never approve of this! Satine would sit on her hands and do nothing!"

Kenobi allowed a sly smirk to cross his face. "You're right. But that will change. She will change when she hears I have solved all her problems without killing a single one of you. Don't ask me how I know. I can just feel it."

Vizsla staggered to his feet and reached behind him, grabbing at the hilt of a weapon lodged between his back and the jetpack he wore and he thrust it before him, a black, humming blade extending from the dark metal hilt, and Kenobi eyed the weapon with envy. "Dooku promised-"

"Dooku knows that I guard Mandalore," Kenobi said, cruel amusement dripping off his every word. "He knows I'm in the Duchess' bed, and he knows what I will do to those that touch what's mine. Satine may sit on the throne, but I am what allows her world to exist. Now, why he would pit you against me is something I will never understand. I'll be certain to ask him the next time I see him, which will be very soon, I imagine."

"So if I kill you, Mandalore will be defenseless!" he shouted, the blade in his hands not humming as a lightsaber did, but seeming to almost whistle as it moved through the air. "This blade was stolen by my ancestors from the Jedi Temple. Hundreds of Jedi have died upon it."

Obi-Wan laughed loudly at that. "I'm no Jedi."

"Than it will be even easier," Vizsla laughed, swinging the saber before him. "If you're Satine's warrior, you should be no challenge. It will be so sweet to tell her how I killed her lover right before I kill her."

"Mm, keep talking, Vizsla, I like it." He didn't. The Death Watch leader jumped at the Sith, blade raised and aided by his jetpack, and the sabers clashed, a thrill running through Kenobi when the black bladed weapon struck his own. He needed that lightsaber. Vizsla was fast, but not nearly fast enough. Without the Force to protect him, aid him, guide him, he was simply a child shaking a stick at a master swordsman. Kenobi effortlessly blocked each strike, each arching slash, each stab, and after a short while, he let one hand hold the weapon, the other carelessly running through his hair. His disinterest enraged Vizsla, and with a feral scream, he increased the pace, changing up the speed and ferocity of the attack. Kenobi rolled his eyes.

"You fight against the inevitable, Vizsla. Drop your weapon and submit." But he wouldn't. Angered further, the man attacked harder, throwing all his effort and strength into his heavy blows, and Kenobi grinned wickedly as the Dark Side feasted on the aggression, the emotions of hatred and rage, syphoning them off the Mandalorian and feeding the energy back to the Sith Lord to replenish him and bolster his own powers. The Force draining his energy, Vizsla began to slow, and with the weakening of their leader, the Death Watch moved in, blasters raised and beginning to fire. With a growl, Obi-Wan allowed the Force to take hold, his red lightsaber moving at a blinding speed to deflect both the bullets and the blade, and he grabbed the commander with the Force to move him before a barrage of blaster fire, and when Vizsla screamed in pain, the shooting stopped. The moment of shock was enough for Obi-Wan to reach out with the Force and pull the Death Watch to their knees, the weapons ripped from their hands and flying to a pile at Kenobi's feet, and slowly, the Mandalorians began to prostrate themselves upon the ground and catwalks on which they once stood.

A moment later and Vizsla was back on his feet, clutching the shoulder where he was shot, but the black weapon still clutched in his hand. "What did you do?" he gasped through his tired wheezing, and Kenobi just smiled, rising his hand, and Bo-Katan clutched at her throat, gasping and writhing as she was raised into the air. Vizsla's eyes widened, and Obi-Wan couldn't help but wonder if the leader of Death Watch also loved a Kryze woman.

"I didn't do anything," Kenobi said defensively. "But the Force may be preventing your men's involvement. Now, at any time I like, I could change that. I could make them suffer like they never had. I could ruin their minds with a thought. It's so easy to break a person."

Vizsla swallowed hard, glaring at the Sith, but his focus kept drifting to the gasping, coughing Bo-Katan, bloody trails running down her throat as she attempted to claw the invisible grip away. "What do you want."

"I want to renegotiate your agreement with the Separatists. You're going to give up your designs for Mandalore. It will remain under the control of the New Mandalorians, they will maintain their peaceful ways, and I will continue to protect that peace."

"That is never going to happen!" Vizsla shouted, raising his saber again and slashing at the Sith, and, rolling his eyes, Obi-Wan effortlessly deflected each blow, his other hand waving in the air and tossing Bo-Katan to the side with such force that the support pole she struck bent with the impact. He reached out with the Force and gripped Vizsla's mind, and the man's eyes widened, his body instantly shaking as he was brought to his knees.

"Do you feel that?" Obi-Wan whispered, wiggling his fingers in the air, and Vizsla swore that he could feel the man's digits wriggling deeper within his head, his eyes rolling back as darkness snaked through him, leaving him feeling as though there were worms in his brain. "That's me. I'm doing this. Look up, Vizsla, look at your men..." Shaking, the Death Watch leader did as he was told, looking up and around him to see the Mandalorians, their helmet's removed, clinging to the rails of the catwalks, on their hands and knees in the dust on the ground, all looking at him unable to move as the Sith toyed with him. In their eyes, Vizsla could see fear.

"Let me explain what's going to happen," Kenobi said, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. "I'm going to break you, Vizsla. Irrevocably. And when I'm done with you, you're going to bow before me, you're going to call me Master, you're going to give me that blade of yours as a gift of tribute, and you will never wish to venture to Mandalore again, because I am there." Obi-Wan grinned. "My Satine may be peaceful, but I am not, and if you think anyone can save you if you cross me, you are terribly mistaken."

Pre Vizsla didn't get a chance to respond before the torture began, the Force bending to the Sith's will to make his blood boil, his muscles convulse, his mind betray him as flashes of his worst fears, his worst memories plagued him, and each second made the agony more intense, the fear more tangible. He felt everything that made him Mandalorian ripped from him, his pride, his honor, the Resol'nare, the sacred tenants of the warrior Mandalorians torn from his mind and replaced with fear and submission and cowardice in the face of the dark creature that stood before him. It lasted far longer than Kenobi had thought it would, but eventually, the screaming slowly stopped, dying to a low whimper and then hapless sobbing as Vizsla quietly began to beg for mercy.

Kenobi laughed harshly. "As I have told thousands before you, and will tell thousands more, begging doesn't work. You know how to get me to stop. You know what I want." He released some of the pressure on the man, the Dark Side snarling in anticipation for renewing its efforts, and Vizsla scrambled to his knees, panic aiding speed to his movements, and he brought his forehead to the ground, Obi-Wan breathing deep as he felt the fear build within the Death Watch as their once proud leader genuflected.

"Master, please..." Vizsla whimpered, rising his body just enough to hold the deactivated blade out toward the Sith. He flinched when Kenobi approached, shutting his eyes tight and turning his head away when the Sith wrapped his long fingers around the hilt and took it from the Mandalorian's willing hands.

"You, Pre Vizsla," Obi-Wan said, his voice smooth and mocking, "are dar'manda." The man winced, a helpless sob torn from him as he bowed his head an accepted the truth of it. It was the worst thing a warrior Mandalorian could have been, a child of Mandalore that had lost his culture, his identity, his soul. "You know it. Your people know it." The Sith Lord laughed harshly as he deactivated his own red blade and clipped both weapons to his belt. He looked over his shoulder when he felt Qui-Gon Jinn's presence slowly enter the room, but it was barely perceptible through the thickness of the Dark Side.

The Jedi nearly recoiled, overwhelmed by the suffering and the terror of the Death Watch, but despite the strong pull of the Dark Side, he felt no death. "Is everything alright?" Qui-Gon asked softly, not drawing further into the room.

"Yes. I have a gift for you." The Jedi did recoil at that, sensing the Sith Lord's sinister intent. "Senator Tal Merrik is an agent of the Death Watch. I'm going to allow you to bring him into Republic custody. Will that satisfy your investigation?"

Qui-Gon was silent for a moment. "I feel that will serve as a satisfactory explanation for what has happened here. This was, after all, simply a Mandalorian problem."

"I'm so pleased you agree." Kenobi's hand shot out to grab Vizsla's short hair, and the man began to shake in terror. "I'm not going to kill you, boy. You're going to live for a long, long time so that any of your warriors that gets the urge to take Mandalore can look to you. And you, my pet, are going to remind them why that's such a terrible idea." He smiled in unrestrained, sinister joy. "If a single one of you sets foot on Mandalore again, each and every one of Death Watch will be forced from your lair and imprisoned on my ship, and they will all suffer your fate, but worse, because it will never end."

"Please, Master, no..." Vizsla whimpered pitifully, and Kenobi patted his cheek.

"Well, you know how to keep that from happening, pet. "But between you and me..." he purred, leaning down to Vizsla's ear, a hand in his hair keeping the frantic man from moving. "I do hope one of you is foolish enough to try to defy me. I can never have too many slaves to service my whims..."

The Death Watch's leader began renewed sobbing, and Kenobi stood, his blazing, golden eyes carefully looking over the rest of the Death Watch, and he felt nothing but terror from the warriors. With a pleased smirk on his face, he turned and walked toward the Jedi. "Come, Qui-Gon," the Sith said quietly. "There is still much work to be done."