Chapter Text
Some head's up about this fic!
- The Haat’ade didn’t get slaughtered! Woohoo! They have an active role in this fic.
- Jaster Mereel is alive - Jango Fett is a teen around Obi-Wan’s age.
- There are three factions in the Clan Wars, New Mandalorians (Evaar’ade or Evaar’Mando’ade), True Mandalorians (Haat’ade) and Deathwatch (Kyr’tsad)
- Melida/Daan’s aftermath was moved up in the timeline by a tiny bit to allow the trauma to be fresher for Obi-Wan. Time line is not canon compliant for this fic :D
- !This is not a Satine/Obi-Wan fic! I don’t like the ship. I will write their banter to the best of my abilities but don’t confuse it for romantic tension because it’s not. They are reluctant friends at best.
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Chapter 1; ‘Master, I have a bad feeling about this’
The familiar sound of the hyperdrive dropping out of Hyperspace woke Obi-Wan from his uncomfortable slumber.
It had been four months since he returned from Melida/Daan. Four months after he was taken back to the Temple by Master Qui-Gon filled with shame and the knowledge of failure. He had been put in the medical wing to be treated for his bones that had healed wrong, to heal some of the scarring he ended up suffering.
He knew they talked about him, about that he left and just came back without consequence. But there were consequences, just not ones anyone besides Obi-Wan realised. The Council had scolded him for leaving, Obi-Wan didn’t defend his actions. He knew he did the right thing, he knew he had to stay to help the Young.
Even if he failed to save Cerasi in the end, even if Nield blamed him for everything, even then, Obi-Wan would do it all over. He knew he saved some lives, he knew they would grow up and heal Melida/Daan– the Force promised him.
Obi-Wan wasn’t supposed to be out of the Temple yet. When Master Qui-Gon dropped by the medical bay for the first time in months, he knew he couldn’t refuse his master. He didn’t want to end up like Knight Feemor– he didn’t want to be ripped out of his Padawan career because Master Qui-Gon dismissed him like he did with Feemor after the Xanatos incident.
So despite the fact that he was barely healed enough to be considered for minor missions, Obi-Wan sat in the co-pilot chair of a Jedi Star Ship that had been commandeered by his Master.
He felt absolutely miserable.
“Where were we going again?”
Qui-Gon tsked, “Do pay attention when I inform you of something, Padawan.”
“You haven’t informed me of the mission yet, Master.” Obi-Wan tried to keep the sass out of his tone, from the look on his Master’s face, he failed his attempt.
“We are heading to Mandalore to assist the New Mandalorians in negotiations.”
Obi-Wan froze for a moment, “Isn’t Mandalore a war zone?”
“There is no official civil war, Padawan, do keep up.”
No. Not officially, no but from what Obi-Wan had heard in the news it might as well be. The ‘New Mandalorians’– not pacifists as they claimed, you need the ability to harm to choose to be peaceful. No, the New Mandalorians were harmless, idealistic to a fault– didn’t want to admit to the fact that the Mandalorians were in the midst of a civil war for control over the Space Sector.
It was hard not to know the plea of the New Mandalorians, they had been begging the Republic to step in to support their rule but the Republic had made no move to do so.
“Did the Council approve of this?”
“Yes, Padawan, I am in fact approved to provide advice and oversee the negotiations with the terrorists.”
Why did there always need to be two extremes? Couldn’t they just meet in the middle?
Obi-Wan learned the hard way that there was no such thing as pacifism in war. You simply didn’t have that luxury. The picture the New Mandalorians painted was of warmongering Mandalorians calling for a return to their old ways.
It was impossible to get a neutral read on the situation because the only information available was from the New Mandalorians themselves.
Something dawned on Obi-Wan, “Master… You are approved for this mission, was I approved as well?”
Before Qui-Gon could answer, the radio crackled to life. “ –identify please. I repeat, we, the New Mandalorians, require you to identify yourself. ”
“Ah, this is Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, I am here with my Padawan. We are to meet with Duke Kryze about the current negotiations.”
The radio quieted for a moment, “ I see, please follow the directions given to you and land in the hangar appointed to you. Welcome to Sundari. ”
There was no way the Council approved a mission in a civil-war torn Planet again– not so soon after Melida-Daan. The only reason they were on Melida/Daan was because Qui-Gon Jinn went against the Council to find Master Tahl. Obi-Wan was experiencing a serious amount of dèjá-vu and he did not appreciate it.
“Master, I have a bad feeling about this.” Obi-Wan muttered.
“Follow my lead this time and nothing will go wrong.”
That felt like a lie at best.
—----------------------------------------------
“Duke Kryze, my name is Master Qui-Gon Jinn and my Padwan, Obi-Wan Kenobi.” Jinn introduced. “We are here on behalf of the Republic to oversee these negotiations.”
“I am glad that the Republic has decided to send Jedi.” Duke Kryze smiled as Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan bowed to the man in greeting. “Call me Adonai. These are my daughters– my youngest, Bo-Katan and my oldest, Satine Kryze.”
Observing the two young girls, Obi-Wan smiled as the smallest of the two pulled a face at him. A little red haired girl wearing what looked to be fake armour and held onto a fake blaster while sucking on her tumb. She was adorable.
Next to her was a teenager that looked a little younger than Obi-Wan himself. She was a blonde, had sharp features and looked much too serious for her age. She looked pretty and Obi-Wan felt his eyes linger for a moment.
“Well met.” Qui-Gon nodded his head at the two.
“I don’t see why we need bodyguards, father.” The blonde whined, glaring at Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. “I heard Jedi are quick to pull their sabers, that is not the image we want.”
Pretty did not mean Obi-Wan would allow that snide comment. “Our duty is to protect, we can not protect you if we are not allowed to protect you, Miss.”
“It is ‘Duchess’ to you.” The girl puffed her chest, “I don’t see the point of violence when we can solve our issues with words.”
“Words won’t protect you from a blaster bolt.”
“A blaster bolt wouldn’t be a problem when we finally banish them all from our planet.”
“And how are you planning on doing that without–”
“Padawan!” Obi-Wan broke eye contact with the whiney Duchess and jerked to look at his Master. His Master glared down at him. “Apologies, Duke, it has been a while since my Padawan was out in the field properly.”
Backing up, Obi-Wan ignored the glares of both the duchess and his Master as the Duke laughed, “No harm done, it is good to have a devil’s advocate amongst our people to help us look at a different point of view.”
That was much more reasonable than his daughter, perhaps these negotiations weren’t as doomed as they already seemed.
Obi-Wan walked behind his Master and the Duke as they spoke about the current situation but Obi-Wan couldn’t help but zone out as he took note of all the armoured beings around. Those weren’t New Mandalorians– so perhaps they were from the terrorist’s side, maybe now with them but supportive of them?
Something was going to happen and Obi-Wan wasn’t looking forward to it.
—-----------------------------------
Word travelled rather quickly concerning the Jedi on Mandalore. It did not do anything to put Obi-Wan at ease, in fact, it did nothing other than making Obi-Wan more on edge than usual.
The Force seemed restless but no amount of meditation could help Obi-Wan figure out why.
Uncomfortable and feeling watched no matter where he went, Obi-Wan started his exploration of Sundari. Qui-Gon didn’t really care what Obi-Wan was up to while he was in negotiation meetings with the representatives of the New Mandalorians and the other faction.
Obi-Wan quickly learned that there was much tension between Mandalorians wearing armour and those who chose not to. Sundari had ‘outlawed’ armour within the dome but many ignored the rule. After all, what were they going to do about it? He was also quick to learn that the Mandalorians were nervous around him in his robes, they didn’t like Jedi.
‘Borrowing’ some alternative clothes was not too difficult and in the second week of their stay, Obi-Wan could freely traverse the lower sections of the dome. Now dressed in a blue tunic and leggings Obi-Wan explored and started gathering intel on what was really going on in the political spectrum of this planet.
He had found some older structures that seemed to be connected to some kind of mine– he later learned that mine was the foundation of Sundari. There was not much authentic food in the ‘high sector’ but in the lower region there was plenty to find.
Food places were a great way to gather intel, if only the armoured Mandalorians didn’t make it a point to speak in Mando’a in defiance of the New Mandalorians’ rule. He sat next to one of those places regardless and patently sat white listening in on the odd conversation.
“–the Mand’alor and–”
“He is not Mand’alor yet. Mandalore has no Mand’alor yet.”
“He has the Dha’kad’au .”
A third voice spoke up, “The Dha’kad’au does not guarantee the right to rule.”
Obi-Wan frowned at the words in Mando’a, how was he supposed to understand if he didn’t know the language? He could only gather so much from context but it was not enough to decypher everything.
There was a piece Obi-Wan was missing. They spoke as if there were three factions fighting for control rather than two factions.That was a major difference from the intel provided by the New Mandalorians.
While pondering on the potential wrong intel, Obi-Wan failed to notice a Mando in golden armour walking up to him carrying two bowls of food from the vendor until they sat down beside him. “ Epar, ad’ika. ”
“What?” Obi-Wan blinked as a steaming bowl of sharp smelling spices was pushed into his hands.
“Ah, Evaar’Mando’ad , that explains it then.” The man gruffed as he raised his helmet just enough to take a swig from his own bowl. “Eat. It will warm you up.”
Obi-Wan hadn’t even noticed that he was cold. He picked up the spoon and stirred the broth in the bowl. “What is it?”
“ Pirpaak .”
Having eaten plenty of different kinds of food over his Padawan career, Obi-Wan dug in after confirming that the Force found no harm in it. His eyes narrowed a little as the spices hit his tongue but Obi-Wan had no other reaction to the spiciness and took another bite.
The Mando was right, it did warm him up as well as satisfy the hunger that had settled. Funny how the Mando noticed Obi-Wan’s needs before he did.
“Not bad for a Evaar’Mando’ad .” The Mando laughed, having observed Obi-Wan for his reaction to the food. A little mean since Obi-Wan suspected he was hoping to see Obi-Wan tear up from the spiciness.
Sensing the opportunity of speaking with a non-New Mandalorian, Obi-Wan gathered some courage before asking, “Did you arrive with the guests of the Duke?” He asked.
“I am with the entourage, elek .” The Mando agreed, “You are a long way from the palace.”
“How would you know I am from the palace?”
“ Ad , you stand out like a sore thumb.” It was true, most Mando’s here wore armour unlike the New Mandalorians in the upper levels. “Where’s your buir, ad ?”
“ Buir? ”
“Oh Manda , do they teach you nothing these days?” The Mando shook his head disappointed, “ Buir means parent. Where is your parent?”
“He’s– He’s in the upper levels.” Obi-Wan froze as a Force Presence brushed past his shielding. His eyes widened realising the Mando he was speaking with was a Force Sensitive.
Were there Force Sensitives amongst the Mandalorians? Obi-Wan read that they hated all Force users but this Mando was just that. Nudging the Mando away from his shields, Obi-Wan cleared his throat and set the half-full bowl of food next to him.
“ Ad –”
“Oi, Goran ! Copaani gaan ?”
With the Mando distracted, Obi-Wan stood up and rounded the corner into an alleyway and away from the Mando. That was enough excitement for one day. At least Obi-Wan had gotten to eat enough for today, he could save up the ration pack he had planned on eating today.
—-------------------------------
Stumbling out of his room while adjusting his robes, Obi-Wan all but stumbled into the duchess.
“I know what you are doing.”
Already tired, Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, “Which is what exactly?”
Satine glared at Obi-Wan, “Fraternising with the enemy!”
“Enemy? Oh no duchess, you can’t have enemies when you refuse to concern yourself with conflict.” Obi-Wan hid his hands in his sleeved as he peered through his eyelashes, “Besides, aren’t these peace negotiations? You of all should be more wary of calling anyone an enemy.”
Frustrated, Satine stomped her feet childishly and crossed her arms, “You shouldn’t speak with them. They are barbaric.”
“Somehow they seem like more appreciative conversationalists.” Obi-Wan mused. “Excuse me, I am supposed to meet my Master–”
“He left with my father, you are supposed to keep an eye on us.”
It would have been lovely if Qui-Gon actually informed Obi-Wan of that. It was not like he didn’t have a comm.
Us? Obi-Wan leaned to the side to see little Bo-Katan waddle behind her older sister. “Hi!” She waved her toy blaster.
Obi-Wan smiled back at her and waved, “Hello there.”
After some back and forth, Bo-Katan insisted on wanting to go outside to play on the roof terras. Obi-Wan had already resigned to his babysitting duty and indulged the young girl by playing with her while doing his best not to argue with Satine. She made it so damned easy.
Somehow she started an argument again despite his best effort but to his surprise Bo-Katan butted in when Satine started to slander the other faction.
“No! We are talking with Haat’ade ! Not the bad people!” The young girl exclaimed.
Obi-Wan frowned, “ Haat’ade ?”
Bo-Katan nodded, “They don’t want war but want to keep the Beskar’gam and the Resol’nare ! We are talking with them!”
“So not the Deathwatch?” Obi-Wan clarified.
“No!”
A third group? That was never specified anywhere. It was always about the New Mandalorians trying to reason with terrorists. Who were the Haat’ade exactly? This verged more research.
“It is not like it matters,” Satine loomed over Bo-Katan with a disgusted expression on her face, “They are all the same.”
“No they aren’t!”
Obi-Wan tuned out the conversation before asking, “Bo-Katan, can you explain the difference between the Haat’ade and Deathwatch?”
“Well, the Haat’ade are the good ones! They want to keep beskar’gam and speak Mando’a and follow the Resol’nare while Kyr’tsad just want to hurt beings.” Bo-Katan waved her hands excitedly.
Blinking at the amount of unknown words Obi-Wan vowed that he would find some Mando’a courses so he could at least understand what was being said around him.
Obi-Wan wondered if that Mandalorian from before could aid in that. The only reason Obi-Wan had run off was because he was caught off guard but that Mando was the only one willingly speaking with him and coming to him which was usually a good sign.
The next time Obi-Wan would traverse down into lower Sundari he would see if he could find the Mando. Bo-Katan was too young to tell Obi-Wan the information he was looking for. It was a risk but Obi-Wan was willing to take it. It was not like he was doing much else since he was banished from the negotiations.
Something else was going on here and the information Obi-Wan was getting was highly biassed, he needed to hear from all available sides. The Force was pushing him to figure out the truth.
Wearily, Obi-Wan groaned a little before taking a decision. The next time he could slip away he would go out and find that golden Mando again.
—-------------------------
Sundari was more on edge today. The negotiations had been ongoing for five weeks, three of which the Jedi were present for. No progress of any value. Like Obi-Wan had expected, the New Mandalorians were too stubborn and though they had enough influence to take the position they were currently in. They were overreaching and the other side of the Clan Wars was starting to lose their patience.
It made Obi-Wan even more aware of his surroundings. Surrounded by angry and annoyed Mando’s was not great and they didn’t exactly like Obi-Wan’s cover as New Mandalorian. Thankfully they seemed to leave him alone for the most part.
Obi-Wan made it back to the food court where he had run into the golden Mando and looked around before sighing and settling in the spot he had been in a week and a half ago.
More conversations were overheard and taken note of and the more Obi-Wan tried to listen, the more he longed to learn the language. Unlike upper Sundari, lower Sundari was lively, filled with colours and the smell of food. Beings seemed happier, more at ease. They didn’t seem to be like the warmongering Mando’s the New Mandalorians pretended they were.
This time around, the golden Mando did not sneak up on Obi-Wan. He felt the Force Presence before he saw the being in question. Obi-Wan looked at an alleyway linking to the food court and straightened as he watched the golden Mando wander in with a few others.
Even if Obi-Wan couldn’t see through the being’s visors, he knew he caught the man’s attention. His blue eyes followed the Mando closely as the Mando waved off his companions and walked over to Obi-Wan who stood to not feel as tiny compared to the Mando.
“Well look who the tooka dragged in.” The Mando hummed before his tone turned a bit more sour. “You look too thin. We are getting you food.”
The fact that Obi-Wan had already had his fill of food for that particular day died in his throat as the Mando grabbed his shoulders and steered him towards a building. Their grip wasn’t tight or painful but it was stern and felt unbreakable. Obi-Wan almost reached for his saber out of habit but stopped himself.
The Mando clearly noticed the aborded attack and tilted their head, “No one will hurt you, ad . Ade are the future.”
“What does that mean?” Obi-Wan asked as he was bullied inside what looked to be a cantina and sat in a booth.
“It is one of the tenants of the Resol’nare .”
Obi-Wan heard that term before.
“The Resol’nare ?” Obi-Wan repeated.
“The code of the Mandalorians. The Resol’nare is our creed, our culture. It is what the Evaar’ade wishes to destroy.”
Thoughtfully, Obi-Wan hummed and asked, “What are the tenants?”
The Mando leaned back before signing something to the cantina’s staff, then he turned his attention back to Obi-Wan. “There are six. Wearing beskar’gam – armour, speaking Mando’a, defending oneself and family, raising your ade as Mandalorians, aiding one's Clan when necessary, and following the Mand’alor to whatever cause they choose.”
“That doesn’t seem unreasonable.” Obi-Wan wondered out loud, “Then why won’t you follow the leader?”
“ Mand’alor .” The Mando corrected. “Because at this time, there is no one Mand’alor . Some have sworn to Vizsla– traditionalists that believe he is meant to inherit the title like he inherited the Dha’kad’au . Others follow the ‘Duke’, tired of the fighting– they gave up on our culture and still dare to call themselves ‘Mandalorians’. Laughable.”
Obi-Wan hummed before looking confused as food was placed in front of him by staff. “I didn’t order–”
“ Epar – eat. No ad will go hungry under my watch.”
“I am not hungry.”
“ Epar .”
Frowning down at the food, Obi-Wan took a hesitant bite before asking, “What about the third faction?”
“The Haat’ade follows the true Mand’alor . The one chosen by the beings rather than heritage or political games.”
So there was a third faction. From the looks of it, this Mando aligned with the Haat’ade . Biassed opinion aside, this Mando was giving Obi-Wan more information than he could have hoped for. “Which is causing the Clan Wars– because there is no one Mand’alor ?”
“There is a reason Mand’alor means soul-ruler, ad .” The Mando gruffed.
Ah. Made sense. Obi-Wan really needed a Mando’a course. “You wouldn’t happen to know where I can get a Mando’a learning course?”
The Mando laughed, “I do. We take the Resol’nare serious– unlike those dar’manda Kyr’tsad’e .”
To Obi-Wan’s surprise, a datapad was handed to him without hesitation.
“I figured our paths would cross again.” The Mando waved Obi-Wan’s expression off before poking at his shields once more to emphasise his point.
“I see…” Obi-Wan muttered, looking at the course to see the basic information on culture and the base of Mando’a as a language.
“Yeah, ad’ika , the Manda –”
An explosion rattled the entire Sundari dome and Obi-Wan would have fallen had it not been for the Mando stabilising him.
Obi-Wan’s eyes widened as he turned to look at the palace and started running towards it before he could think twice. Datapad in hand and a Mando yelling behind him, Obi-Wan took off and sprinted as fast as he could.
The domed city was under attack and shaking on its foundation. The source of the chaos? The Sundari Palace. Obi-Wan winced as he felt Qui-Gon pull on their bond, his frustration growing with the minute. Obi-Wan tugged back at it and ran faster.
Running back into the palace, Obi-Wan ducked just in time to avoid a piece of rubble threatening to crash down on his head. He rolled across the rubble covered floor and winced as an old injury reopened.
It was like a war zone inside. Mando’s were shooting the place up and killing whoever they stumbled upon. Black and blue armour with a strange symbol Obi-Wan had not seen in Sundari before.
They shot at Obi-Wan before even looking who he was– thoughtless killing– these were the Deathwatch, they had to be. Ducking into another hallway, Obi-wan searched for familiar faces– hopefully his Master was nearby.
Pulling out his lightsaber, Obi-Wan started to fight through the masses, deflecting bolts as they came and helping Mandalorians to cover where possible. His Master was nowhere to be found but Obi-Wan seemed to draw more and more attention– they were targeting him.
They focussed on the Jedi– nothing new but this seemed more on purpose than normal. He fought his way into the courtyard and cringed as he noticed himself getting surrounded.
When they started to move in on him more and more, Obi-Wan made a crucial decision. Qui-Gon kept getting further and further away from him, Obi-Wan could feel their bond fading. Pushing the approaching enemies away, Obi-Wan leaped up a random balcony and ducked inside.
If the lightsaber was drawing them towards him, he needed to fight differently to escape. His Master had likely left him behind because they couldn’t find him in the chaos so Obi-Wan needed to make his own way out.
There was no armoury in the Palace– kriffing harmless New Mandalorian– so Obi-Wan needed to find a different way to gain a weapon and flee the Palace to regroup with his Master.
Pocketing his lightsaber, Obi-Wan ran to his room and took his bag. After Meldia/Daan, Obi-Wan had a bad habit of hoarding packaged food items. They called him strange for it. Who was laughing now?
Before he left, Obi-Wan picked up his outer robe and shoved it into his pack before peeking out of the room. He needed to find a lone enemy and steal their weapon. Sounded easy enough.
For a moment, Obi-Wan sucked in a deep breath and shook his nerves off. This was no different from Melida/Daan. Another war zone, another attempt at survival. Obi-Wan should have stayed in the Temple.
The Palace never stood a chance once the Deathwatch overran it.
Sneaking down the halls, Obi-Wan hid whenever he felt anyone approach. That was the case until he felt a certain duchess.
No. Please, no.
“Padawan Kenobi?”
“Duchess? Where is your Father?”
“Your Master took him and my sister. We– The roof fell– I– we got separated. I can’t find– I am so scared, Obi-Wan.”
Cursing underneath his breath, Obi-Wan grabbed onto Satine, “Focus, I know you’re scared, I understand but you need to stick with me. I am getting us out of here, alright? Stay with me, stay behind me and do exactly as I say.”
Satine desperately nodded, “Yes. Okay, yes.”
Obi-Wan let Satine cling onto his arm as he started to guide the two of them through the Palace. Pulling her along and hiding her whenever they were in danger of being spotted, Obi-Wan found exactly what he was looking for.
“Stay here for a moment.” He whispered as he freed his arm from Satine’s death clutch and snuck up to an unsuspecting sniper overlooking the courtyard Obi-Wan had been fighting in before.
Someone was speaking to a crowd. It wouldn’t surprise Obi-Wan if the Deathwatch managed to overtake the entire palace already, the amount of enemies surely suggested as much. The courtyard was lined with snipers keeping an eye on the place in case of a retaliation– Obi-Wan doubted it would ever come.
Obi-Wan got close to the Mando and took a deep breath before kicking the Mando in the back of the knee, stealing their dagger and plunging it into the gap between their helmet and chestplate.
The brutal kill gained him a gasp from Satine and a squeal of a choked up cry. Obi-Wan ignored it in favour of stripping the Mando holding onto his neck from his weapons and silently mourned the loss of life as he did so.
Obi-Wan moved to pick up the sniper rifle and quickly checked it before loading it up.
“What are you doing?” Satine whispered, clearly in distress.
“I am gathering alternative options, it would do you well to do the same.”
Satine crossed her arms as she glared, “I refuse to lower myself to that level.”
Obi-Wan nudged Satine to walk with him again and steered into an alternate room to store his newly gained weapons properly.
“Your words won’t protect you when you can’t even speak loud enough to be heard over blaster fire.” Obi-Wan growled in annoyance.
“Even extremists can be reasoned with!”
No they couldn’t, not when you didn’t have the upper hand in some way. “You are not really someone to reason with.”
The duchess scoffed, “The sarcasm of a soldier.”
“The delusion of a dreamer.” Obi-Wan snarled back. “Admit it, you are an extremist too! Don’t pretend to be the balance when you are the weight pulling it off course!”
Satine glared at Obi-Wan, “At least I am dignified.”
“Are you?”
Knowing this argument would continue on indefinitely, Obi-Wan gave up arguing and pulled Satine along as he whipped the blood spatters off his face with the sleeve of his tunic.
They had food and weapons, the last thing they might need was a disguise for Satine– she stood out more than Obi-Wan did– and perhaps protection like armour as well. Those were not priorities at this time, getting out of Sundari and finding his Master was.
Somehow, by pure luck and the will of the Force, Obi-Wan and Satine made it out of the Palace without running into anyone.
The city was not much better than the Palace was. It was overrun by those Mandalorians– Deathwatch– and they were taking over the city. There was less killing here but it was not much better.
They were spotted halfway there and Obi-Wan was forced to shoot and kill three Deathwatch members before a straggling group of Haat’ade finished them off. He and Satine fled before they could speak to them.
How to get out of the city? That was the real question.
With the domes the city was protected from the outside but it also locked the beings inside up when the exits were closed. Deathwatch must have taken control of those by now.
Think Obi-Wan, think. What would you have done on Melida/Daan? How would the Young have handled this?
Then it dawned on Obi-Wan.
Underground. The Young would have slipped out underground. Sewers usually reach every part of a city and eventually lead outside of it.
“How is your sewer system planned?” Obi-Wan asked as he and Satine caught their breath in a dark and empty alleyway.
“What?” Satine breathed heavily and looked disturbed and annoyed at the question, “Now is not the time to research the city!”
“Humour me.” Obi-Wan pressed, equally annoyed as Satine.
“Pipes mostly.” Satine replied, “It was difficult to get a new system with the mines in the way and–”
Not ideal. “How big?”
“Big enough for a small droid, why– Oh, oh no! You can’t! It’s too cramped and dirty and–”
“I heard you the first time, be quiet already.” Obi-Wan was not happy with that news. Unlike older cities, Sundari’s sewer system wasn’t built to allow beings in there to fix it when necessary, they were droid dependent.
Wait…
The Mines.
Of course! The Mines were the foundation of the city. They would lead out of the city as well, Obi-Wan had seen it on old maps in the library himself. That might just be their best bet. He knew just where to find a small entrance as well, this was perfect.
“Come on.” Obi-Wan pulled a whining Satine along again as he changed course and started heading to the food court he had been visiting semi-regularly.
“Where are we going?!”
“The Mines.”
“Those are dangerous!”
“Those Mines are our way out of Sundari and away from certain death.” Obi-Wan snarled back as he guided Satine to the lower levels.
Satine sputtered but Obi-Wan was done listening and carefully made their way to the mine entrance.
To Obi-Wan’s dismay, the entrance looked to be guarded. Not heavily but enough to make him doubt this entire idea. No, it was the only exit that was within their capabilities. Once they were inside they could cover their tracks in case they would try to follow.
From what Obi-Wan could see there were only two Mando’s– Deathwatch from the looks of it. Quietly, Obi-Wan took the rifle off his shoulder and loaded it. He was on the same level as the Mando’s and without easy access to high ground and with them in the open, Obi-Wan knew he had one free shot before they would know their presence and likely call for back-up.
He needed to make the kill with that one shot and take down the second without getting him or Satine injured.
“Stay behind this wall, don’t look until I call for you to run over, understood?” Obi-Wan whispered.
Satine swallowed thickly as she nodded. Her eyes weren’t on Obi-Wan but on the rifle in his hands. Obi-Wan took a deep breath before taking a moment to balance himself. Then he shuffled to the edge of their cover and carefully peeked around the corner.
Just two of them. One shot should take down one of them if Obi-Wan was careful about it, the other might just be the true issue. That would be the Mando making the call and that would be the Mando actually fighting back.
Leaving Satine behind their cover, Obi-Wan moved closer to his targets and got into a better position to take aim. One shot between the armour plates should be sufficient. One carefully aimed shot.
Breathing out, Obi-Wan took aim and waited. He wrapped himself in the Force, letting its waves calm him and steady his aim. For a moment, nothing happened, everything went absolutely quiet.
Then Obi-Wan took the shot and rushed in right after.
Before his shot hit his target, Obi-Wan was out of hiding and lining up a second meant for the other Mando, but he failed to get a clean shot.
The first Mando was hit in the neck, their hand raised up as they fell back and landed roughly. The second Mando reacted immediately and shot in Obi-Wan’s direction blindly.
Obi-Wan dashed to the side, aided by the force to move incredibly fast.
He moved closer before the Mando could take a moment to recover from the shock and lunged up at them. Obi-Wan kicked the Mando back, but the Mando caught him and kept balance. Sadly for them, the Mando didn’t expect the knife to the throat and fell back as well, gurgling on his own blood.
Obi-Wan moved off the Mando and called out to Satine, “Now! Come on!”
Thankfully, Satine listened to Obi-Wan’s order and ran out of their former hiding spot and stuttered in her step as she saw the carnage Obi-Wan had inflicted on the two Mando’s. A hand covered her mouth as she almost gagged.
Taking some of the ammunition of the Mando’s and another two daggers, Obi-Wan got close to Satine and pulled her along. He ignored the blood from the second Mando on his hands as he grabbed Satine’s hand to pull her into the mines.
“Come on! There is no saying if they managed to call for backup or not.” He ushered Satine into the Mines.
“Oh my– there is so much blood–”
“Satine! Focus! Now is not the time.” Obi-Wan could feel the Force screaming danger. Danger was approaching and they needed to get deep into that Mine right now.
He followed the strings of the Force pulling him along and dragged Satine along with him. Why wouldn’t she run properly? Didn’t she understand how much danger they were in? How much danger was she in?
They ran for what felt like hours until the Force finally settled enough for Obi-Wan to feel comfortable taking a break.
Satine sobbed as she dropped to the dusty ground and shivered violently. Obi-Wan let her be for the moment and looked around the corner they just passed. He tried to listen for signs of pursuers but happily noted he didn’t hear them.
“Let’s go, we–”
“No!” Satine exclaimed, “No, I can’t– Kenobi– I can’t.”
Obi-Wan sighed, trying to keep his calm, “Satine, it’s not safe here–”
“You may be used to this, but I am not!” Satine sniffed, “I can’t– I need to– we were fine this afternoon, I don’t– Why are you so cold?!”
Was he being cold? Perhaps he was, Satine was right, she wasn’t used to it. Obi-Wan sighed again, “Fine. Try to get some rest but when I wake you, we need to move, alright?”
Satine shivered and sniffed as she laid down on the cold duty floor and hid her head as she sniffled. Slowly but surely, Satine sacked and slipped into a restless slumber.
Knowing sleeping was not ideal without a proper watch and in a location as exposed as this one. Obi-Wan settled in to attempt and organise his supplies.
He had a bag, his Jedi robe– which he shouldn’t be wearing but would act as an excellent blanket, ration bars to last them for around two weeks if they were careful, his lightsaber, a sniper rifle, two daggers, a hand held blaster, a water bottle and the datapad he accidentally stole from the golden Mando.
They needed to find medical supplies in case of emergency– Obi-Wan wasn’t naive enough to believe they wouldn’t need them.
Picking up his lightsaber, Obi-Wan hesitated for a moment. He couldn’t use it right now, not even in an emergency. It would be a dead giveaway that Satine was the heir of Kryze if Obi-Wan was protecting her with his lightsaber. Having it with him alone was risky at best.
Still, Obi-Wan remembered the hardship he suffered through on Melida/Daan without his kyber. He knew he could fight and protect Satine without it– perhaps even better than if he carried it with him– but he couldn’t part with it again.
Only in the most dire of times could he even consider using it now. Reaching into the Force, Obi-Wan meditated on his decision before levitating the hilt into the air and opening the case. His bright blue kyber buzzed in greeting as Obi-Wan pulled it out of the saber and let it drop into his left hand.
He pushed the empty hilt at the very bottom of his bag and tied his kyber on a string around his neck, hiding it beneath his clothing. The stone rested over Obi-Wan’s heart and warmed against his skin, it sang a calming song, comforting Obi-Wan as his mind spiraled for a moment.
Obi-Wan repacked his bag but halted as he picked up the datapad. It was undamaged by some miracle and had no encryption. Instead of closing his eyes and pretending to sleep, Obi-Wan settled against the stone wall of the mine and opened the datapad.
He might as well learn some Mando’a until it was time to move on.
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