As soon as their ship touched down on Coruscant, Korkie was already on his feet, striding down the ramp with a confident stride.
He had his destination clearly in sight.
"Korkie, wait," he suddenly heard his mother's voice behind him and he forced himself to stop, even though he didn't really have the nerve.
"What?" he murmured, watching as she convinced a few guards and Merrik that she would be fine on her own.
Merrik seemed less than amused by his mother's explanation, but accepted her words with a tight nod. Korkie could still see a snarl forming on the man's lips as he apparently thought that no one was watching him.
I don't like him.
Satine finally caught up with him, making a worried face.
"Have you checked your commlink?" she began without much fanfare, pushing him forward with a hand between his shoulders.
"What? No, I-," Korkie was irritated, "…I broke mine. Why? Did something happen?"
His mother stopped when they were out of earshot and put her hands on his shoulders, watching him intently. "Your father wrote to me...," she continued, making Korkie's heart grind to a painful halt, "...he said that he had an incident and he probably needed to go back to the Halls of Healing..."
Korkie stared at her wide-eyed, unable to form words.
Her fingers squeezed him gently. "I just tried to reach him, but he's not answering. I don't know what's happened, but if he's already texting me, it can't be good..."
"Then we shouldn't waste any time," were the first words he uttered.
"Indeed," agreed his mother, already wanting to move forward, but Korkie stayed rooted to the spot.
"Can you promise me something?" he asked a little hesitantly, but loud enough for Satine to stop - because he needed to know.
"Korkie, I don't think now is the right time-," she argued, turning to him, but he cut her off.
"Promise me you two will finally talk to each other...," he continued, "...and stop fighting."
You've hurt each other enough.
Her eyes spoke of an inner conflict, but finally she nodded. "Okay, I-... I don't want to fight with him," she took a breath and turned her gaze towards the Jedi Temple, "And I think you're right... all it takes sometimes is a sincere apology."
Korkie let his gaze linger a moment longer before finally striding up to meet her. "... Thank you."
Together they walked up to the temple, stopping only when one of the temple guards stepped in their way.
Korkie unconsciously took a step back, a little intimidated by the tall figure in white armor in front of him.
"The temple is not open for the public," the man behind the mask stated coolly.
"I am Duchess Satine Kryze and this is my son Korkie. We were invited," Satine jutted her chin, confidently facing the man even though he towered far above her, "by-."
"- by Knight Skywalker," Korkie interjected quickly, giving his mother a quick glance, "We realize how much Master Kenobi has done for us on Mandalore and we haven't really had the opportunity to return the favor... Knight Skywalker suggested we come visit - as a sort of surprise, so to speak."
Korkie plastered his biggest smile he could muster on his face.
The temple guard did not move an inch, the black slits of his mask staring down on the two of them. "A surprise...," he repeated with little amusement.
"You can call him if you don't believe us," Korkie continued to challenge, hoping that the guard would finally give in.
Of course, he had no luck.
The guard leaned forward and Korkie could almost see the grin behind the mask. "Then that's exactly what I'll be doing..."
Korkie watched tensely as the man pulled out his commlink and apparently went through a list of frequencies until he found what he was looking for. He then ascended a few steps so that they couldn't overhear the conversation.
"I hope your plan is well thought out," his mother breathed beside him, looking at him doubtfully.
"Trust me," he replied confidently, even if he didn't know whether his idea would really work.
A moment later, the guard returned. "You may proceed," he opened, motioning for them to move on, "Knight Skywalker will meet you in the entrance hall."
"Thank you," they both replied simultaneously before doing as they were told.
Korkie couldn't help but marvel as he set foot in the temple, overwhelmed by the beauty that presented itself to him.
"It's fascinating, isn't it?" asked Satine, coming to a halt next to him, "Only a few non-force sensitives have the privilege of seeing these halls from the inside."
"Have you ever been here before?"
"Once... when Master Jinn died."
Frowning, he gave her a questioning look. "Who is Master-"
He fell silent halfway through his sentence as a tall man with blond-brown hair and blue eyes approached them.
That must be him. Anakin Skywalker.
The young Jedi had a slight smile on his lips as he faced them. "When I told you to let me know if you needed anything, I was actually expecting something else," Anakin quipped amusedly, stopping in front of them.
Korkie smiled back and bowed his head briefly. "Thank you for seeing us."
"You two have been in contact?" asked Satine irritably, quietly watching the proceedings so far.
Anakin's blue eyes settled on those of the duchess. "Obi-Wan couldn't answer his commlink and I saw that Korkie tried to reach him several times. So I answered in his place."
The air was heavy and Korkie could almost feel the tension. The two obviously didn't care much for each other.
"How is Master Kenobi?" he finally interjected quietly, "I heard there was an incident..."
The Jedi's shoulders lost a little of their tension and he took a step back, now looking at Korkie with a gentle gaze. "That's what he told you, huh?"
He waved his fingers for them to follow him and started moving, not waiting for them to follow.
Korkie hurried to catch up with the taller man.
"Obi-Wan is in surgery right now," Anakin explained calmly, even though the deep lines on his forehead spoke of great concern, "He fell earlier today, which probably broke the bone again and shifted it a little... It wasn't until a few hours later that we realized something was wrong. Obi-Wan said his leg was hurting badly and he kept losing sensation."
Satine stepped up beside him, a frown on her face. "Why didn't you go straight to the healers?" she bit out, barely hiding her concern with anger.
Anakìn didn't stop, but Korkie caught his fingers twitching briefly. "Because he seemed okay," was all he offered.
Snorting, Satine shook her head. "You should know him better."
This caused the Jedi to finally stop, giving her a sour look. "Look, Duchess," he sneered, "I have no intention of arguing, but if that's what you want, you can leave right now."
Korkie nudged his mother gently in the shoulder. "Come on. You promised..."
Still, the two found themselves in a stalemate, staring each other down as if that would move anything.
"Fine," Satine gritted out eventually, motioning for Anakin to go on.
Anakin grumbled something unintelligible under his breath as he turned away, but continued down the hallway.
They finally reached the Halls of Healing and Anakin spoke briefly with the Twi'Lek at the front desk before leading them to one of the rooms.
Without another word, he plopped down on one of the plastoid chairs, stretching his legs into the area where the bed was supposed to be.
Instead Korkie was left to stare at an empty space.
"Did they say how long it would take?" he asked, his stomach tightening painfully.
Anakin glanced at the chrono on the wall. "He's been gone for maybe 1 hours... ," he murmured, turning back to sit up a little straighter when he noticed the look on Korkie's face, "...don't worry, your father's in good hands here."
The hairs on the back of Korkie's neck stood up.
"You know?" Satine bristled beside him, crossing arms in front of her chest.
The Jedi Knight was more than unimpressed. "He told me," he replied dryly.
"He shouldn't have," she growled back.
Anakin's eyes flashed and barely a moment later he was on his feet, pounding over to Satine. "It was his decision to tell me," he hissed back, "I'm as much a part of his family as he is." He jabbed a finger in Korkie's direction.
Only him. Not his mother.
Korkie chose not to say anything to the Jedi's choice of words.
"Then he should also consider that he's putting this very family in danger with his decisions!" Satine argued coldly.
Anakin worked his jaw and slowly shook his head. "Just because you can easily shut him out does not mean I will do the same," he whispered, "If he wants to talk to me, then I will listen - and if he asks me to keep something for myself, then I will do that too."
A buzzing took residence in Korkie's ears.
"Can you two just sit down?" he intervened, rubbing his temples with both hands, "We agreed not to argue..."
Both adults stared at him for a moment before Anakin finally sat down on the chair closest to the wall and Satine took the outermost one, leaving one empty in the middle.
"Thank you," breathed Korkie, simutaneously sitting down on the vacant place.
The three of them fell into silence afterwards, all staring at the empty place in front of them.
It felt like he was sitting between two fronts again. This time, too, he didn't know which side to choose.
Maybe this is to become a theme of my life.
Perhaps half an hour passed when the door opened and a group of healers came in, pushing in a bed with a familiar shape on it.
Obi-Wan was pale and had an oxygen tube under his nose, but his eyes were open and even a small smile stretched across his face as he recognized them.
"The surgery went well," one of the healers explained as the others hooked up the various machines and monitors, "As long as he doesn't put any weight on his leg for the next few weeks, we're optimistic that he'll make a full recovery."
Anakin breathed out a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear... is there anything else we should know?"
"Check for infections or other signs that his condition is deteriorating. His immune system is weakened and any cold, no matter how small, could be dangerous now."
"I see. Thank you."
The healer tipped his head in acknowledgement. "We'll leave you to it for now. Let us know if you need us."
With that, the group left the room, leaving the ragtag family behind.
Anakin as well as Satine and he stood up as soon as the door had closed, approaching the bed.
Anakin was the first to speak. "How are you?"
It was obvious that Obi-Wan was not really with them yet, be it because of the ongoing sedation or other medication they had given him, but his eyes still focused on his former student.
"Mostly tired...," he croaked, his throat raw from the intubation tube.
Anakin seemed to notice this as well. "Would you like a drink?" he asked, pointing to his own throat.
"No," Obi-Wan shook his head a little in thanks and redirected his gaze to him and his mother. "You came..."
Satine hesitated briefly, letting her eyes wander to Anakin before they fixed on the man in front of her again. "I won't leave you alone again...," she whispered, her voice heavy, "...and I want you to know that I'm sorry. I've been more than unfair to you."
She let the words hang between them and feigned to take one of his hands before thinking better of it. Korkie watched how Obi-Wan's fingers tightened in response, but he made no move to reach for her either.
Come on. Say something.
"You know I've never been good at being angry for long," his father finally said, "... but still, I don't know if I can forgive you so easily... I guess- I guess, I need time, Satine."
Swallowing hard, Satine pulled back a little, her expression a mixture of regret and sadness. "I understand."
"I'm sor-."
"Gosh, no... Don't apologize, Obi-Wan," his mother interrupted him, "I understand your decision, I really do." She brushed away a strand of hair that had fallen into her face with one hand. "... I would probably make the same decision in your place."
"Alright," his father sounded a little relieved, but the tension didn't leave his body. His shoulders were still visibly hunched and he seemed saddened.
"We were worried about you...," Korkie finally voiced what all of them were thinking, "After not hearing from you, I was beginning to fear the worst."
Not that this is a good thing.
Obi-Wan tried to sit up a little, but couldn't, still weak from the surgery.
"Wait," Anakin gently hooked his hand under Obi-Wan's shoulder and pulled him up carefully, proceeding to stuff a pillow behind the other man's back so he could lean against it.
"Thank you, Anakin," the Jedi Master gave a genuine smile before turning back to Korkie, "I'll be honest with you all... I- my mind isn't really in a good place right now... I can hardly sleep. The food is making me sick...," he paused, searching for words, „It feels like I'm being hunted - like I'm still there."
He lowered his head as the last words left his mouth, his hands clutching restlessly at the blanket.
Not knowing what to do, Korkie grabbed one of the hands, holding it tight with his own.
I'm here, dad.
All of a sudden, a flash ran through his mind making shiver run down his spine. Then it felt like a shadow was looming over the room.
Screams. A black blade. Blood.
JEDI SCUM.
Korkie stumbled back, abruptly letting go of his father's hand, and gasped as the images in his head disappeared as quickly as they had appeared. His mother was immediately at his side, holding him by his arms. He blinked a few times, trying to clear the fog from his head. "... what was that?" he groaned and turned his gaze to his father.
Only now did he realize that Anakin had grabbed Obi-Wan's arm.
The man in question stared at him with wide eyes - almost as if he was terrified.
As if he had hurt him.
"A memory," Anakin finally replied, "sometimes they are so intense... that they are shared through a bond."
„A bond?", Korkie struggled to get his breath under control, „… is that a bad thing?"
This made the Jedi Knight chuckle. "No. On the contrary," he finally let go of Obi-Wan as the man relaxed a little and placed a hand on his master's shoulder instead, "It's something sacred. It connects us in the Force."
"I don't quite understand..."
"What Anakin is trying to say," Obi-Wan looked conflicted, "is that you and I seem to have a bond, Korkie."
He shook his head. "But I'm not Force-sensitive..."
Obi-Wan laughed softly. "Yes, you are. Even if you don't exhibit the powers of a Jedi, you can still sense it." He closed his eyes.
Shortly afterwards, Korkie felt a pressure in his head.
'Hello my son.'
"I can hear you...," he mumbled in amazement, not really processing the situation yet, "Can you hear me too?"
Korkie squeezed his eyes shut in a childish attempt to reach out to his father.
"I'm sorry, Korkie...," he heard his father speak and he opened his eyes again, only to see the Jedi Master looking at him sadly, "This skill takes a long time to train... I'm afraid our bond is mostly one-sided."
"Oh," Korkie blurted out suddenly feeling ashamed.
"It was not my intention to inflict this on you," Obi-Wan continued, his face pinched, "I lost control..."
"Why would...?" he began, but his mother cut him to it.
"Because it can be equally dangerous," Satine stated bitterly, shooting Obi-Wan a dark look.
„It's not dangerous…," he began to argue back, but again she wouldn't let him finish.
"Of all people, you should know best what can happen," she interrupted, "What it feels like when it snaps. And you've just inflicted that on our son. Think about it."
Even if he didn't understand what she was talking about, he could see on Obi-Wan's face that her words had hit him deeply.