Chapter 2 - Voyage of Temptation

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~ Amina Gila

The Senators have already gathered to eat when Obi-Wan arrives. He's expecting Satine to have some snippy comment about how late he's showing up, but she doesn't say anything. Her emotions are fluxing strangely from a mix of guilt to something resigned, and... He can't really make sense of it, not without trying to probe deeper. Which he can't well do.

"Our men are investigating a situation below decks. I have to ask you to wait here until it's settled," Obi-Wan says.

They all look up, visibly alarmed.

Satine is, too.

Good. That means whatever's happening, it wasn't her doing.

Obi-Wan takes the open seat at the end of the table, that was clearly set for him. He's not in the mood to try eating, but he can do it for the sake of appearances.

He's about to take his first bite when he notices that something is very wrong with the food. The Force is twinging in faint warning, and it only takes him a moment to realize that it's about the... food? A silent warning not to eat. If he wasn't so on edge for the slightest disturbance from down below decks, he might not have noticed at all, but he can clearly sense that something's wrong.

The food is... poisoned?

That's so typical in an assassination but everyone else is eating and showing no side effects. Is this intended for him?

He looks up sharply, to Satine at the head of the table. She's looking at him, but her gaze reverts to her food half a second later.

Is this poison set here for him? Was this... a personal assassination attempt? On him?

What?

Why would someone do that? Who would do that? If someone was on board to assassinate anyone, it would be for Satine, not the Jedi protecting her, right? Unless this was intended for Satine, but ended up for him instead but he doesn't really buy that. He's far more inclined to think this was intentional, by... someone.

The anger that coils inside of him is icy and sharp, but he doesn't show anything visibly. It –

He still can't believe Satine would have anything to do with this, and yet...

Or maybe, what he should really be thinking about is how he's supposed to be finishing his own mission. What's he supposed to be doing? Poison her food? Shove food into her throat to choke her?

Force.

He can't believe he's thinking about this. At all.

He can't imagine just outright hurting her entirely unprovoked either. (What if she's the one who tried to have him killed just now? But does that really sound like something she would do? But he doesn't know... any of that. It's all guesswork. He can't shake the guilt twisting inside of him for thinking about it this far already.)

The lift beeping in the hall finally distracts Obi-Wan, and he slips out of the room, grateful to get away from the table.

It's Anakin, with word that the contents of one of the containers is missing, and two clones are missing. That's not good, and he's pretty sure things are only going to get worse. That's always what happens.

"I'll stay with the Senators, but I wouldn't be too disappointed about missing dinner," Obi-Wan responds, still feeling none too happy, "My food appears to have been poisoned."

Anakin's eyes widen, his anxiety flaring. "What?"

"Everyone else is fine. It was only mine. I didn't eat it, but we need to be cautious. Someone is serious about killing the Duchess... or us." Because he's still not clear on which it is.

Something about Satine is off.

She's being too... just different. Could be the threat over her life and planet, but that would make her pricklier and fierier, not the more distant, quiet way she was acting when Obi-Wan was last in there.

"Whatever it is, I'll figure it out," Anakin promises, heading back for the lift.

Obi-Wan returns to the dining room, but he doesn't have to wait long for something to happen.

"Obi-Wan!" Anakin's voice crackles through his comm, "There's assassin probes down here! One made it up the lift."

Oh.

Oh no.

The Senate guards immediately turn to the lift, right when something slams against the doorway. Obi-Wan draws his lightsaber, right before the door is ripped open, a spider droid running out, taking down the guards before they manage to get off more than a couple shots at it.

The droid leaps past him before he can stop it, scrambling across the table and throwing the food all over the floor –Obi-Wan has no regrets about that – as it runs for Satine. He jumps the droid, stabbing his lightsaber through the top, and shoving it to the floor, only for dozens of tiny spider droids to leap out running at the Senators.

Of course, now would be a good time to let Satine –

Why is he thinking that?

Why is the Council perfectly okay if he just –

Obi-Wan slashes through the spider droids as fast as he can, and Satine withdraws a deactivator, firing on them.

So much for never fighting. They're standing back-to-back as they fight them off, and he wishes he could stop fixating on both their previous friendship years ago, and on the mission.

"Do you always carry a deactivator?" Obi-Wan asks breathlessly, as the last of them is down.

"Just because I'm a pacifist doesn't mean I won't defend myself," Satine snips. There's a shadow lingering in her eyes, though.

"Just like that swarm of venom-mites on Draboon, remember?"

"How could I forget? I still have the scar?"

What scar? "I distinctly remember carrying you to safety," he objects.

"I meant the scar I got after you fell and dropped me."

"...Oh. Yes."

She also did not need to mention that right now in a room full of people.

Satine eyes him for a long moment, the previous attitude disappearing. "I assume you're quite alright."

She's asking him that? "Of course. It's you Death Watch is trying very hard to kill."

Why that lingering flicker of guilt again, that's quickly buried? Satine turns away before he can notice or sense anything more. "I'm sure your new skills as a general will be quite useful," she replies curtly.

"I would agree," he shoots back, irked, "But I must urge you to vacate the room. It's not secure here."

**w**

Anakin shows up not long later, with proof that one of the Senators is the traitor. (Not Satine, then.) But there's only one way to find out.

A tiny spider droid is still loose, and Obi-Wan's feeling maybe a little too smug when he catches the thing, locking it under a glass cover it can't break free from. Maybe he shouldn't find it mildly amusing at how alarmed all the Senators are when he comes in with it, but it's just... funny.

Satine yells at him for it, of course, but well... Oh, well.

He's just glad the droid is most active around her. It was programmed to kill her. This is proof that maybe the intel the Council got was wrong. He doesn't know, but it's at least worth telling them about this before he takes any further steps. (He can't just... intentionally let her die before they reach Coruscant. Not for nothing. There's no reason they can't investigate it further first. Assassinating someone isn't something the Jedi should even be involved in unless it's Dooku.)

Finally, Obi-Wan circles around, stopping in front of the Mandalorian Senator.

And the droid stops moving. "It seems to like you, Senator Merrik," Obi-Wan observes.

The Senator's expression flickers and Obi-Wan feels the flare of shock from Satine – clearly, she's not in secret collusion with him... probably. "Really, General Kenobi, you're quite clever," he sneers, and moves abruptly, knocking the dish from Obi-Wan's hand. The droid leaps out, running for Satine.

Obi-Wan draws his lightsaber to slash it in half, but not before Merrik has grabbed Satine, holding a blaster up to her head as he drags her from the room.

Kriff.

He can't ignore the way worry flares up in his chest, and it's not just about finishing the mission to escort Satine to Coruscant.

Erm.

Actually, the mission objective would be to let Merrik kill her.

Which he can't do. He can't. And this is the clearest evidence he needs, to know that Satine has nothing to do with Death Watch. The Council's intelligence was clearly wrong, and – Force. It's a good thing he never carried through with it.

He feels worse that he thought about it as much as he did. (It's not the Jedi way. How could they ask him to do that? What if he had and only after he'd realized it was for nothing?)

But he'll deal with that later. Right now, he needs to focus on getting Satine back.

**w**

Droids attack the ship before Obi-Wan can catch up with Merrik – clear proof of Death Watch involvement with the Separatists – but Anakin promises to deal with it, so Obi-Wan can go rescue Satine.

And can Anakin stop giving him that mischievous look every time he mentions her?

Seriously.

Just because Obi-Wan wants to help her doesn't mean – whatever.

He finally manages to catch up with Merrik in the hallway near where the droids first attacked – debris is lying everywhere in the halls. He's still holding a blaster to Satine's head as he backs away. She looks scared; it's the first emotion other than being in complete control of the situation that he's seen on her since this started.

This isn't fake. He knows it.

"You are under arrest. Release the Duchess," Obi-Wan warns.

"I took the precaution of wiring the ship's engine to explode," Merrik retorts, smugly, "I press this remote, and we all die."

He'll only do it if he has no other way to survive. Obi-Wan can't believe the traitor would willingly kill himself otherwise.

"Obi, if you have any respect for me, you will not take such risks with so many people's lives at stake."

It's jarring to hear her use that nickname for her again. It's a little weird too, because he's not the teen he was back when they knew each other. But it certainly means that this is genuine, and he – he can't believe he was doubting her honesty for so long. (He can't believe he actually thought about finishing that mission.)

Merrik calls someone over his comm, asking to be picked up. "Say farewell, Duchess," he says, mockingly.

There's nothing Obi-Wan can do to stop it, and he's never been quite this angry before. All this time the Council told him to let her die, and now he's going to have to stand here and watch while it happens. Maybe, if he hadn't been so distracted with the senseless mission, he could've seen this coming before it did.

Satine's expression falters. "Obi-Wan, it looks like I may never see you again. I don't know quite how to say this, but I've loved you from the moment you came to my aid all those years ago. Even before we... what happened."

Is she serious? Now is not the time to have this very private conversation, right in a public place. He'd be feeling more than squeamish about the comment even if the two of them were the only ones there. At least she didn't openly mention their ridiculous marriage.

"I don't believe this," Merrik scoffs. "Is this why you were so hesitant to take action that could have saved your life and planet, Duchess?"

What action?

Satine's expression darkens. She obviously knows perfectly well what he's talking about. "I can see now why you were pushing for it, Merrik," she hisses.

"Aside from how you would have violated all your pacifist ideals, perhaps it would have made your people believe in you again." He scoffs. "But it's too late for that now."

What are they talking about? Now's probably not the time to ask about that, either. Not when she could be about to die. Any conversation is only stalling right now because he doesn't know what to do. He can't risk everyone on the shuttle just to save her. That's not even an option.

Anakin's life is at stake here, if Obi-Wan makes the wrong move.

Satine looks back at him, desperation in her eyes. "Obi-Wan – "

Oh, right. Back to that."Satine, this is hardly the time or place for – " He huffs out a breath when he sees her disappointment. Fine.

If this is really the last time he sees her –

When he thinks back to the friendship they used to have years ago, it... he knows how close it was going to further than just a friendship. For real, not just because of customs. But unlike Satine, for him, it was never really about what was beyond a friendship.

It was just... the idea of having someone with him, a friend, someone who he got to spend time around that wasn't always counting down. Because at the end of the day, that was true for everyone.

First, there was his Initiate clan. They had been close, but then they were all taken as padawans, and he didn't have anyone anymore. They'd all adjusted and moved on, and they don't even talk to each other anymore.

Qui-Gon was who he was supposed to have a... bond with after that, and they were close for all that Qui-Gon was strange, but the time they had together was always counting down. Obi-Wan knew that from the very start and knew they would drift apart over time just like... everyone.

He shouldn't have been so afraid of – of having such little importance to anyone that in the end, no one would care if he was gone. No one would miss him. It was not the Jedi way to care about that, but it was something that occasionally occupied his mind when he was young when he got lost on that tangent.

Satine wasn't like the Jedi. She was friendly and genuine and didn't have any issue being close to people – even if she and Obi-Wan spent most of their time squabbling. And giving Qui-Gon a headache. But their friendship had gotten close, especially after he'd known her for a year, and he hadn't wanted it to just end. He'd wanted to – to be around someone he wouldn't inevitably drift away from. (He'd thought just a little about the legitimacy of their marriage, actually.)

Until he reminded himself that he had a duty to the Order, and that mattered more than anything else.

"Had you said the word, I would have left the Jedi Order," Obi-Wan admits finally.

Would have.

He... wouldn't do that anymore. He's far past that point, even if those fears still linger in his mind sometimes. Besides, now he has Anakin. (His light, his – the center of everything he cares about, maybe far more than he should, but he could never want that to go away, even if it's hard to control sometimes.) Sometimes he can't shake the fear that eventually he and Anakin will entirely drift apart too, but then he thinks about that burning intensity Anakin has, and he knows that will never happen. The boy is too... loyal, too stubborn for that. Maybe Obi-Wan was too critical of him as padawan, because he knows now there's no one he trusts more. Anakin would never let him down. He never has.

Despite the fear in Satine's expression, Obi-Wan sees the flicker of... she's happy to hear what he said. Even if she doesn't see it the same way he does.

He knows Siri seemed to act a little similarly towards him when they were younger, but that Obi-Wan never really understood. It seemed more like a distraction than something that would ever be tempting. He never thought more seriously about it until Satine.

"That is touching. Truly it is, but it's making me sick, and we really must be going," Merrik interrupts loudly.

Yes, that reminds Obi-Wan of why he didn't want to have this conversation right now, and why he wants to run the Senator through with his lightsaber.

Maybe the Council should've given him assassination orders for him.

He still can't believe they gave him assassination orders, period.

Which happens to be the very moment Satine stomps on Merrik's foot, freeing herself, and aiming his own blaster at him.

Except Merrik still has the control to blow up the entire ship, so that doesn't help. Obi-Wan can't make a move without him pushing the button, and Satine's definitely not going to shoot – couldn't, even if she believed in fighting.

"Come on, then," Merrik mocks, "Who will strike first and brand themselves a cold-blooded killer?"

A lightsaber activates, the blue blade plunging through his chest. Merrik falls, and Anakin catches the control before it hits the ground.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan gripes, because –

Well, that was entirely not the Jedi way, even if he has no sympathy for Merrik whatsoever. (Even if he was thinking a little too much about how much he wanted to do that himself.)

"What?" the boy protests, "He was going to destroy the ship."

He's about to reply when Satine interrupts. "Obi-Wan, I – "

Except she doesn't have the chance to finish either, before Cody shows up with a report about the droids, and all of them go their separate ways. He can't shake the tiniest measure of disappointment that – that something. He's not really sure, even.

Perhaps after they get to Coruscant, it's not likely he'll ever see her again? But that doesn't really matter. Hasn't all these years, so he doesn't know why there's a part of him that's thinking about any of that again.

At least Satine is alive, but now he has to explain to the Council why he didn't carry out the mission he still can't believe they gave him in the first place.

**w**

The Council meeting goes... maybe a little better than Obi-Wan expected.

"Good that you investigated this matter further, it was," Yoda tells Obi-Wan, and the others drop it at that.

He intends to go back to his normal Council business as though nothing happened at all – even if he can't stop thinking about what they asked him to do, even if they agreed later it was wrong – but he ends up at the Senate building again, dealing with Council matters.

But it's in time to hear that the Senate voted to send troops to Mandalore, because of lies the Mandalorian government was telling its people about the true size of Death Watch and how severe the problem's become.

He has no idea if it's true or not, and he doesn't get the chance to ask Satine about it further. She's too annoyed to talk to him, and he can't deny getting too annoyed in return to have a constructive conversation about it.

At least not until later, when he hears news that she was nearly assassinated?

The worry that sparks inside him is – Well, she is a friend, even if nothing more, and he has reason to be worried about her. (Especially when he's the one who nearly assassinated her entirely wrongfully only a day ago. He can't believe he was even seriously thinking about it. It's easier to pretend that didn't happen at all.)

"Satine, I just heard about your accident," he says, scrambling to catch up with her in the Senate halls.

She looks fine, aside from severely ruffled. Her only response is a string of mostly incompressible syllables of frustration.

"Tell me what happened," he requests. The Republic's not continuing to... press through with what they wanted, are they? No, that can't be right. He already got the accusations against her cleared up. It has to be Death Watch, but they seriously risked coming to Coruscant? Maybe they really are stronger than she wants to admit. He doesn't know.

"I'm fine," she replies, flustered, "I wasn't hurt. I didn't want to worry you."

He can't begin to count how many times Anakin's said that to him.

At least for Satine, it doesn't annoy him even a fraction as much. She's just a friend. Anakin is... everything to him. He wishes he knew how to even begin showing that. Not like that's the Jedi way, though. (Nor was the mission to kill Satine.)

"If that was your goal, you failed spectacularly," Obi-Wan replies, bluntly, "Look what happened."

"Look what happened?" she repeats, voice rising, "This attack proves that I've upset someone. I must be on the right track."

"This attack proves you're in danger even here on Coruscant. You won't let the Republic authorities handle it, will you?" (The same Republic authorities that wanted her dead only hours ago. How does he know this isn't related? Even if the Council told him otherwise?)

"Certainly not," she replies, fiercely, "I'm on my way to the Ministry of Intelligence right now to meet my contact."

He could offer to help, but he has things to do too. He's already lingering here longer than he ought to. "Let me know if there's any way I can help," he offers finally, turning to go. (Maybe it just feels like he ought to give at least that after he spent so long thinking about... that mission. Even if Satine never knows that.)

Satine sighs, deflating like a popped balloon. He's almost certain he senses that flicker of guilt that he keeps seeing in her when they're around each other. He still doesn't know what to make of it. It's strange, but not obvious enough that he can really ask her about it. "Thank you," she replies.

Except he hasn't even left yet when Senator Amidala suddenly approaches. Seeing her again instantly makes Obi-Wan think about his questions with Anakin, makes him wonder if Anakin is in a situation somewhere near as close to the ridiculous mess Obi-Wan got himself into – aka, getting married by accident.

Not likely, though.

If Anakin got married, it would be because he wanted to. Which would mean he broke everything about the Code and... Anakin can be reckless, but not that reckless. (Planning to kill Satine was also breaking the Code, and the Council shamelessly asked him to do it. Maybe they admitted it was the wrong choice, but he can't... get it out of his head.)

Obi-Wan shoves the thought from mind at what Senator Amidala is saying. Apparently, the Senate just voted, deciding in favor of the occupation, because the accident accelerated the Senate's decision.

"Republic forces are set to leave for Mandalore at sunrise tomorrow," Senator Amidala says, and Satine practically deflates.

He can see the anger in her eyes. "You see? I was right before. Counting on the Republic is a mistake." She spins on her heel, striding away.

Maybe now isn't a good time to interrupt and tell her that the Republic's presence wouldn't necessarily be there long. They are just doing this to help, to stop Death Watch. He gets her worry, but she needs to be reasonable, too.

His comm beeps suddenly, and he checks to see that it's a message from the Council, asking him to come to an emergency meeting.

He doesn't know why, but he has a very bad feeling about this. To be fair, he's had a bad feeling about this mess since the moment it started because once things like this start they never just get better until something blows up in the worst way possible. He has no idea what the worst way possible this mess could blow up is, but probably with the entire war being won by the Separatists in a few months because Death Watch starts fighting the Jedi, and...

But something's wrong. And he's almost certain it's related to the Mandalore mess.

What could it possibly be this time?

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