Hey, everybody! This story has been an idea floating around in my mind for a while, and I finally got to writing it down. As Obi-Wan takes a new approach to dealing woth the Mandalorian threat in "The Lawless," and Yoda begins to notice the change in the Order earlier on than he did in the original series, I wanted to explore how that would impact the story from this point on. This story will be almost completely AU, with a new outcome for many of the arcs that follow this one.

Additionally, I wanted to explore what would change between Anakin and Obi-Wan when Obi-Wan is also given the chance to explore the healthy version of attachment and compassion that Qui-Gon once stood for so many years ago.

Without further ado, I hope you enjoy!

Master Mundi grimaced, looking to Master Yoda. "Without involvement from the Separatists, this is an internal affair for the Mandalorians. I'm afraid we cannot help."

Obi-Wan shook his head vehemently. "We cannot just hand over Mandalore to these crime families and let Satine become a martyr!"

"I'm afraid her decision to keep Mandalore neutral makes this situation... difficult."

Obi-Wan felt his anger spike, but he took a deep breath. Seeing that Master Yoda was about to speak, he quickly interjected: "If I may be so bold, Masters, we Jedi are keepers of the peace, are we not? Regardless of an ongoing war, there is obviously unease and tyranny taking place on Mandalore. Before this war started, we would have sent at least a Master and Padawan to assess this threat, regardless of neutrality."

Yoda frowned pensively. "Understand your feelings, I do, Obi-Wan."

"With all due respect, Master Yoda, I think you are misinterpreting me." Obi-Wan could tell his irritation was beginning to become evident to both Masters.

Yoda raised a wrinkly eyebrow at him. "Willing to enlighten me, are you?"

Obi-Wan sighed, taking a deep, calming breath. "Master Mundi, could I speak to Master Yoda alone for a moment?"

Mundi looked to Yoda, who nodded. Bowing respectfully, the Cerean retreated from the room.

Yoda simply looked at Obi-Wan, waiting for him to speak.

"Master, may I speak freely?"

"You may."

Obi-Wan sighed, berating himself for what he was about to do. "As I'm sure you were able to tell, I have a personal connection to this matter."

Yoda nodded. "Mm. Remember your mission with Qui-Gon, I do. Concerned about your resolve, he was. Proud, however, when return to the temple, you did."

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow but chuckled. "I'm not surprised that he mentioned it to you." He became solemn again. "When you sent me to investigate the renegade Mandalorians years ago… I'm afraid that it caused a resurgence in those feelings. I am still devoted to the Order, and to the ideas of the Jedi, but I care too much about Satine to leave her on her own." The man tightly shut his eyes and took a deep breath. "If I must, I will leave for Mandalore alone. I ask you now, not only as a Jedi Master but also as a trusted friend: allow me to put together a group of Jedi and troopers. I will only require a handful if we plan this accordingly."

Yoda frowned, not speaking for a few moments. "Trust you, I do, Obi-Wan. Because of this, be honest with you, I will: sense that there is for more to this insurgence, I do. And agree with you, I do, that the council would have approved before the Clone War. However, reshaped the council, the war has. Unsure, am I, of whether they would approve now. But approve, I do."

Obi-Wan gaped at Yoda. "Does this mean…?"

Yoda smiled softly. "If promise to return to the temple, you do, approve your mission and chosen team, I will."

"I will, Master! I will."

"Then, as Grand Master of the Jedi Order, give you permission for a mission to Mandalore, I do."

Obi-Wan began to sprint from the room, stopping at the door. "Thank you, my friend."

Yoda nodded. "You are welcome, Obi-Wan. Go now, and save your girlfriend."

Obi-Wan was about to protest, but the Grand Master closed the door in his face. Hearing the small Jedi's mirthful laugh, Obi-Wan simply shook his head and chuckled, running off to his quarters.

Obi-Wan stood beside Commander Cody, Boil, and R4 as they waited for the Twilight to land.

"With all due respect, General," began Boil, "you still haven't even told us why we're here."

"Soon, Boil," Obi-Wan assured. "I want everyone here first."

"Yes, General."

As the ramp descended, Anakin, Ahsoka, Rex, Fives, Jesse, and R2 walked down and joined them.

Anakin looked at his former master earnestly. "You said it was an emergency?"

Obi-Wan nodded. "Yes. I have a mission that comes directly from Grand Master Yoda. Come, we'll talk in the barracks."

As the crew made their way to the barracks in silence, Anakin walked beside Obi-Wan. "Obi-Wan, I sense your anxiety. Even in the midst of a battle, you're usually better at hiding it. What kind of mission is this?"

Obi-Wan was silent for a moment. "A personal one…"

"'A personal one'?"

Obi-Wan didn't say anything else until they reached the barracks. As Cody closed the door, Obi-Wan instructed them to circle around him. He pulled out his communicator, and the image of Satine came up.

"This is a message for Obi-Wan Kenobi. I've lost Mandalore. My people have been massacred, and Almec is now the prime minister. I can't explain everything now, but Almec has the support of the crime families. Obi-Wan, I need your help…"

As the Death Watch troops surrounded Satine, Anakin looked to his master. "And Master Yoda approved this mission? That doesn't sound like something he would do."

Obi-Wan sighed. "He almost didn't… What I'm about to tell you cannot leave this group." Everyone nodded in agreement. "The Council would not approve of this mission. Master Yoda knows of my personal connection to this mission and nearly shot it down. However, he began to sense something deeper to it. Once I took a step back, I realized that he was right. Something here doesn't add up."

Fives frowned. "If I may, General―"

Obi-Wan held his hand up. "All of you are here because I or Anakin requested your presence. You may ask or say anything you need to without pleasantries."

The clones all shared a look. Fives began again, "Well, I thought that Mandalore was neutral. And didn't Commander Tano confirm that the Separatists left Death Watch alone?"

Obi-Wan nodded. "You're right, Fives. Which is why the Council would not approve. Not without Senate approval. But this mission is not about the war."

Cody frowned. "Then… what is it about?"

Before Obi-Wan could respond, Rex broke in: "Cody, General Kenobi isn't just our C.O. He's our friend. If he's asking us to help him, why should we question him?"

"I just mean that we're part of the Grand Army of the Republic, not the Grand Army of the Jedi Order." Cody looked at his general sympathetically. "It's not that I don't want to help, General, but that would go against protocol…"

Jesse raised an eyebrow. "And what about what happened on Umbara? Remember what happened last time we obeyed protocol?"

Fives put a hand on Jesse's shoulder. "Easy, soldier." Fives then looked at Cody. "You remind me of Echo in a lot of ways, Cody. I imagine your name is a play on wanting to follow protocols and codes?" Cody frowned and nodded. "While I understand that, I think this goes deeper than that. Imagine if there was a chance Waxer was still alive somewhere. Would you follow protocol and wait weeks for approval for a mission to recover him, or would you want to leave as soon as possible?"

Cody and Boil looked at each other sadly before nodding determinedly. Boil spoke for Cody: "We'd do whatever we needed to rescue someone we cared about." He looked at Obi-Wan. "What else do we need to know, General?"

Obi-Wan nodded gratefully at all of the troopers. "While I don't know what, I suspect that there's something deeper going on on Mandalore. Death Watch would not have the power or influence to gain the trust of the crime families and oust Satine on their own, nor would they simply slaughter their own people. Mandalorian warriors are fiercely loyal to one another. Only the strong may rule, but the strong must stand for the weak. Even if they acted alone, there wouldn't have been a massacre. For this reason, this mission needs to be small. We need to be able to not only determine what happened but get Satine ― and possibly her family ― out of there."

Anakin nodded. "Understood, Master. We'll get them out of there, whatever it takes."

Obi-Wan nodded to him before looking around. "I want to be clear: this is not an order as your General. This is simply a request from Obi-Wan. If you want to stay, I won't hold it against you."

Ahsoka smirked. "With all due respect, Master Kenobi, shut up." The clones all snickered at her. "If you're going, I'm going."

"I'm in, General," Cody said with a smile.

"I'll follow you anywhere, General Kenobi," replied Boil.

Rex smirked. "Where General Skywalker and Commander Tano go, I follow."

Fives grinned. "And I follow Rex."

Jesse nodded. "And I, Fives."

R2 and R4 both whistled their affirmatives.

Obi-Wan smiled warmly at each of them. "Then let's go."

As the Twilight descended on Mandalore, a member of Death Watch stood on the platform. He watched as the smoking vessel came to a rather shaky landing.

Obi-Wan exited the ship, ignoring Anakin's "That's the last time I let you fly my ship."

"You better get your ship looked at," the Mandalorian said amusedly.

"Oh, it's my friend's ship." The ramp finally came loose, slamming to the ground. He told me it was perfectly fine." His statement was punctuated by a metal beam falling off of the ship. "Terribly sorry about that," he added, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Do you have a landing permit?"

"Um, I think I left it on the ship. Come with me, and I'll get it."

The Mandalorian followed him up the ramp, only for Cody to slam his blaster against the man's head.

Obi-Wan sighed. "I don't think the Twilight will hold up long enough for a flight back to Coruscant."

Anakin began to clothe himself in the Mandalorian's armor. "Wouldn't have been a problem if I'd been flying."

Rex shook his head, sighing. "General Skywalker, this scrap heap has been on its last legs since your last crash landing with her. I think we would've been out of luck with or without General Kenobi's… erm, improvised flying."

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "I was about to thank you before that." Rex rubbed the back of his head with a grimace. "Regardless of why, we'll need a new ship if we're going to get out of here."

"May already be a problem with that, General," Boil said apprehensively. He pointed out the window, where three Mandalorians stood, staring right back at him.

"Blast!" Obi-Wan cursed.

Ahsoka narrowed her eyes. "She's Death Watch alright."

As the lead female noticed that she'd been spotted, she held her hands up in surrender. She raised her hand to her helmet, and a transmission made its way to the group's comms.

"I'm not here to fight you or stop you."

Anakin put on the jetpack, sneering. He spoke into the comm, "Then tell us who you are and why you're watching us."

"Who I am doesn't matter. All you need to know is that I already tried to get the Duchess out of there, but he recaptured her and took my nephew hostage as well."

Obi-Wan responded this time. "Then perhaps we can all work together and try to help her."

"I can't do that, Kenobi."

"And how do you know who I am?"

"All of Death Watch knows― well, knew your name. You and your friends, Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano. Your clone friends I don't know as well, but you must trust them a lot to bring them here. And here I thought they were just expendable pawns to you Jedi."

Ahsoka growled. "Not to us, sleemo. Now give us some valuable information, or shut your kriffing―!"

"Ahsoka," Obi-Wan admonished. "We actually want her to help."

Ahsoka sighed. "Yes, Master."

"Keep the snippy youngling on a tighter leash, Kenobi."

Ahsoka scowled but held her tongue.

"Whatever your name is," Obi-Wan started, "we both want the same thing. If there's anything you can tell me to help the Duchess, I need to know. Whether you'll help try to get her out or not, I need more information before I make a move."

There was a pause before the woman spoke again, "What do you want to know?"

"How did Death Watch overthrow the Duchess?"

"Well, Death Watch had some help. But now, Death Watch doesn't exist anymore. Now they're just the Mandalorian Army."

"May I ask who you and your compatriots are then?"

"Loyal Mandalorians. Pre Vizsla is dead, and there is an Outsider pulling Almec's strings."

Obi-Wan frowned. "Viszla dead? He was a formidable warrior. And he had the darksaber. Whoever killed him must be quite the warrior as well to have beaten him and gained the respect of the Mandalorians."

"He and his brother are like nothing we've ever seen."

Cody frowned. "Brother?"

Obi-Wan 's eyes widened. "No… It can't be…" He looked at Anakin, who now wore the recolored Mandalorian armor. "I know how they gained the crime families' help."

"So you do have a history with them. We heard that they wanted Satine to lure you here, but he was convinced you would come alone. You'll have the advantage of surprise on your side. But I don't know how you plan to get clones and a Togruta into the palace."

Rex responded to her, "But you might be able to help us. Even if you won't help us, perhaps you could lend us some disguises?"

"No chance. Beskar is part of our heritage. Besides, it isn't like they'd buy it; they recolored the armor."

Anakin frowned. "Pardon me, but I'm still a little behind. Why is the armor recolored? Who's leading Mandalore right now?"

Obi-Wan grimaced. "Maul."

Ahsoka and Anakin shared a horrified look. "Oh, boy…" breathed the padawan. "What have we gotten ourselves into?"

Obi-Wan ignored their trepidation and tried to calm his own nerves. "Miss, if you would be willing to lend us the armor and break into the palace, we could use the excuse that the unpainted armor is of soldiers who want to defect back onto Maul's side."

"I've already had troops try that. Maul's brother slaughtered them for leaving in the first place."

Boil frowned. "Well, there goes that idea. General, we might have to go with the original plan."

"No, that won't work anymore. We know now who's in the throne room. Maul wouldn't give us the chance."

"What was your original plan, anyway?"

"Well…"

A man wearing Mandalorian armor opened the elevator door, laughing at the sight in front of him. "You caught him."

The other man pushed Kenobi into the elevator. "Sure did. He didn't put up much of a fight. I think the guy upstairs overestimated him."

"Well, don't let him hear you say that. Might do what he did to Vizsla."

Anakin scoffed beneath the Mandalorian mask. "And then some. No, we'll keep that between us."

"You have my word. I swear by the light of Lothal's moons."

The two Jedi looked at the Mandalorian in shock, before Anakin asked, "Fulcrum?"

The other Mandalorian looked at Anakin in shock. "You're not actually Caston Rook, are you?"

Anakin removed his helmet. "Anakin Skywalker."

The other man stopped the elevator quickly, before removing his helmet as well. "My name is Fen Rau. I stayed behind when Maul took power, but I contacted Viszla's old right hand. She told me that Satine's nephew, Korkie, had learned of the code phrase from Ahsoka Tano after they discovered Almec's treachery. I knew Kenobi would recognize it but didn't realize you'd be here, too, Skywalker."

"I recognize your name," Anakin said suddenly. "You were brought in to train clones, then you saved Knight Billaba and her padawan."

Rau chuckled. "I'm glad you recognize me. Mean's I won't have to prove anything. Did any others come with you?"

"Yes," Obi-Wan responded. "Another Jedi, five clones, and two droids. We spoke with the defector outside but were told we would receive no aid."

"Well, I'm not actually acting on orders from her. I was actually going to make this up as I went along, but I assume you actually have a plan if you were going to go upstairs together?"

"We do. Follow our lead," Anakin said, putting his helmet back on.

"Understood, Master Jedi." He put his helmet back on and started the elevator again.

When the doors opened again, Rau growled at the Mandalorian outside the door. "Get maintenance down here. Damn elevator got stuck halfway up."

"Understood, Protector Rau."

The three made their way to the throne room, where Maul was sat on the throne. Savage stood beside him, and both grinned maliciously at the sight of Kenobi. The Jedi acted surprised and horrified, despite already knowing his enemy would be there.

Maul laughed lowly. "Commander Saxon, go retrieve our guest. She will want to be here for this." The zabrak rose from his seat, eyeing their new prisoner. "I must admit, I expected more of a fight from you, Kenobi. Or perhaps Rook and Rau both deserve promotions for fighting against you and winning."

Kenobi sighed. "I'll admit, I underestimated them."

Maul smirked. "Something you often do when it comes to your enemies."

"Well, sometimes I do. Sith Lords, however, are my speciality. And, well, you're only half a Sith anyway."

Anakin had to fight off a snicker, while Rau just gaped at the Jedi from beneath his mask.

Maul, meanwhile, growled at him. "Your insolence will end soon, Kenobi."

A moment later, the door burst open, and a Mandalorian pushed Satine into the room. She held her head high in defiance, faltering when she spotted Obi-Wan in their clutches. "Oh, no…"

As Maul was distracted, Obi-Wan shot her a reassuring smile, pouring as much confidence into the look as he could.

It seemed to do the trick, as her eyes brightened slightly. Glancing between Kenobi and Maul, she began, "Obi, I'm so sorry I dragged you into this. I should've realized the Council wouldn't approve, but I had hoped you wouldn't have come alone if they didn't."

He smiled at the duchess. "I could never leave you on your own."

Maul took his seat and laughed as the Mandalorian forced Satine to her knees beside his throne. "Of course you would come on your own. Your noble flaw is a weakness shared by you…" Maul used the force to raise Satine into the air by her throat. "... and your duchess." As Obi-Wan made a move to step forward, Anakin put a hand on his shoulder, while Rau put his blaster against his back. "You should have chosen the dark side, Master Jedi. Your emotions betray you. Your fear, and yes, your anger." Anakin tightened his grip on his master's shoulder but poured comfort into the gesture. "Let your anger deepen your hatred!"

Satine struggled in the air. "Don't listen to him, Obi!"

"Quiet," Maul growled.

"You can kill me, but you will never destroy me. It takes strength to resist the dark side. Only the weak embrace it!"

Maul sneered. "It is more powerful than you know."

"And those who oppose it are more powerful than you'll ever be."

Maul snarled.

Obi-Wan and Anakin heard Rex in their comms: "Keep him distracted for a few moments more. We're almost set."

"I know where you're from. I've been to your village. I know the decision to join the dark side wasn't yours. The Nightsisters made it for you."

"Silence!" Maul growled. "You think you know me? It was I who languished for years, thinking of nothing but you! Nothing but this moment." Satine began to struggle even more. "And now the perfect tool for my vengeance is in front of us. I never planned on killing you. But I will make you share my pain… Kenobi." His grip on Satine's throat tightened further, and Obi-Wan made to move forward.

Anakin growled. "Rex, time's up!" He removed his hand from Obi-Wan's shoulder and force-pushed Maul into Savage. Obi-wan force-pushed one Mandalorian guard into Almec, and Rau shot the other guard.

Obi-Wan surged forward and grabbed Satine's hand. "Come on, Satine!"

The windows of the palace crashed in as Rex, Cody, Fives, Boil, and Jesse rolled to their feet, blasting at Maul and Savage. The Sith blocked every bolt as Maul called for the guards.

Anakin shouted, "Go, go!" and the nine of them ran from the throne room.

Anakin fell into step beside Rex. "Where's Ahsoka?"

"The defector had a change of heart." Rex shot at Maul over his shoulder. "She and Commander Tano went to get the prisoners, while her men are making their way to us from the outside."

Meanwhile, Satine laughed, making Obi-Wan look at her in concern. "I should have known you wouldn't come alone! You always have a plan, don't you, Obi?"

"Oh, I most definitely would have come alone." He used his lightsaber to deflect a blaster bolt back at a converging soldier. "And I likely wouldn't have known Maul was here if I had!"

"I'm sorry I didn't mention him in my message! I had no idea the two of you had history!"

"That's quite alright! All that matters now is getting you out of here!"

"We need to call my sister for backup. She'll have the numbers we need."

"Who's your sister?"

The nine made it out of the temple, managing to avoid the blaster fire and the two Sith. As more Mandalorians flooded the area, Maul's forces fought against the defectors. The clones entered the fray as Obi-Wan and Anakin moved to fend off Maul and Savage.

Rex turned to Satine. "Duchess, catch!" He tosses one of his pistols to her. "It's set to stun for you!"

"Thank you, trooper!" Satine found cover and aided the troops when she could.

In the chaos, no one noticed as Ashoka and the lead defector escaped the palace with the prisoners, including Korkie. The group was able to take two transports and get them to the courtyard outside the palace.

Ahsoka leapt into the battle, helping Anakin to push Savage back. While the Sith were distracted, Fives ran to Satine and got her into a transport with the help of Korkie.

Ahsoka leapt over Savage's head and force-pushed him, causing him to stumble forward. Anakin was able to land a kick on the apprentice's kneecap, causing him to go down.

Ahsoka and Anakin shared a look and nodded. As Obi-Wan fought off Maul, the two built up as much power as they could. "Master, get down!" As Obi-Wan ducked, the two pushed Maul as hard as they could, sending him crashing into the palace wall. "Let's go!"

As everyone was able to board a transport, the Jedi felt a dark, cold presence wash over them. Ahsoka shivered, looking at the others in fear. "What… what is that?"

Obi-Wan shook his head. "Whatever it is, I don't want to stay long enough to find out." The transports lifted off and sped towards the landing pads.

As Maul felt the same dark presence, he paused. Once he had recovered, he growled. "After them!" he roared. He ran to Savage and helped him up. "Brother, I feel a dark presence. Once I haven't felt since… Master!" Maul quickly made his way to the throne room, Savage following closely behind.

As the transports fled, Satine took a moment to hug Korkie. "I'm so glad you're alright, nephew. I'm sorry that you were captured because of me."

"It's more than alright, Auntie. I'm just glad you're safe. Although, I'm sure we have General Kenobi to thank for that."

The two Mandalorians looked up as Obi-Wan jumped from the transport, landing on the back of one of Maul's soldiers. He slashed the man's jetpack before launching the man's rocket at a bridge up ahead. The soldier fell to the city below as the bridge crumbled, taking out several other oncoming soldiers. Obi-Wan jumped back onto the transport, glancing at Satine and smiling at her briefly.

Meanwhile, Ahsoka was defending the female defector. "So, now that we're effectively in a life-or-death situation together—" She paused to deflect a blaster bolt into the jetpack of an incoming soldier. "—you got a name?"

The woman laughed, shooting over the padawan's shoulder. "You've got guts, kid, I'll give you that! Name's Bo-Katan."

Ahsoka tackled the woman as a rocket flew just over the transport, right where Bo had been standing. The woman's helmet was knocked off and across the transport. "Close one. Nice to formally meet you, Bo!" The Togruta helped the Mandalorian back to her feet. "And even nicer to be fighting alongside you instead of against you."

As the two women bantered, Anakin and Obi-Wan began to converse as well. "Quite the situation we've gotten ourselves into, Master!" Anakin quipped.

"Nothing more than usual, my friend! We're quite lucky the defectors had a change of heart!"

Satine frowned and shouted to him. "What do you mean 'change of heart'?"

Anakin chuckled. "She wasn't gonna help us at first! Not sure what changed her mind, but I'm sure glad she did!"

Satine sighed. "Oh, Bo… I know you don't exactly love me, but do you really want me dead so badly?"

Korkie took her hand. "I'm sure she doesn't, Auntie. Did you ever find out why she joined Death Watch in the first place?"

Satine pondered that for a moment, realizing that he was right. She hadn't ever bothered to find out the truth about that.

An explosion overhead shocked her from her stupor. If they got out of this alive, she would ask her sister what had happened to make her hate her so much.

As the blast doors opened, the people in the transports were shown a harrowing sight: Mandalorians vs. Mandalorians, explosions and fires left and right, and bodies littered around the hanger. A Mandalorian shuttle was waiting for them there, and the men and women rushed for the ship.

Rex and Cody jumped from the transports before they'd even stopped, securing the shuttle. As the clones, Jedi, and Rau escorted the Mandalorians to safety, Anakin realized something. "Wait, Ahsoka! Where are R2 and R4?"

As if on cue, the Twilight came screaming overhead. The two droids flew from the off-ramp and allowed the ship to crash onto the pad, creating the perfect distraction. The droids quickly made their way to the shuttle as well.

Obi-Wan, Satine, and Bo were the last three on the pad. "Satine, get on board!" the other two shouted simultaneously. The two gingers shared a look, smirking and nodding respectfully at one another.

As the blonde made her way up the ramp, she shouted to them. "Come on, then!"

Bo shook her head. "I have to stay here. Go back to your Republic and tell them what's happened."

"That would likely lead to a Republic invasion of Mandalore!"

"Yes, and Maul will die. But Mandalore will survive; we always survive. Now go! Get her out of here!"

As Satine tried to protest, Obi-Wan asked, "You're Satine's sister, aren't you?" Her silence was answer enough.

Obi-Wan began to board, but Satine ducked under his arm and ran to her sister. "Bo, wait!" The other woman turned quickly, scowling at the duchess. However, the latter threw her arms around her sister. "Thank you. I know you didn't come in order to save my life, but thank you.

"I love you, Bo."

The warrior tensed for a moment before she wrapped her arms around the pacifist. "I… I love you, too, Satine. I… I'm sorry. For everything."

"Just promise you'll survive this, and I'll forgive you."

"You know me, sis. Too stubborn to die that easily."

"If you weren't, it would have saved me quite a few headaches, but would have caused far too many tears."

The sisters smiled at each other. "Goodbye, my Duchess."

"Goodbye, my Warrior."

Obi-Wan ushered Satine aboard the shuttle. As the ramp closed, Anakin called, "Everyone, hold on!"

As the shuttle lifted off, Satine threw herself into Obi-Wan's arms, snuggling into his chest. "Thank you, Obi-Wan. So much."

The man froze for a moment, before wrapping his arms around the woman. "You're welcome, Satine. As I said, I could never leave you on your own." He wished he could stay like that with her forever.

However, Commander Cody began to snicker, and the Jedi softly pulled her away from him. "I'm just glad you're alright."

Satine smirked at him playfully. "No thanks to your knack for waiting until the last possible moment." She turned her gaze to the clone troopers. "Although I feel like your troopers deserve some of that credit, hm?"

Rex snorted, trying to mask it as a cough. "My apologies, Duchess. CC-2224 believed that it was too windy on top of the towers, and our lines wouldn't be secure enough."

Cody glared at Rex. "Well, CT-7567–"

"Oh, none of that," Satine admonished. "What are your names, Troopers?"

Cody stood at attention. "I'm Commander Cody, this is Captain Rex. That's ARC Trooper Fives, Corporal Boil, and Corporal Jesse."

Obi-Wan shook his head. "I disagree, Cody. I believe that this is ARC Trooper Boil and ARC Trooper Jesse."

The two brothers shared awed looks, before standing at attention and saluting Obi-Wan. "Thank you, General," Boil began. "I will wear the title and armor with honor."

"You've earned it, Boil. Waxer would be proud of you."

Jesse grinned. "Hardcase wouldn't believe this, would he, Fives?"

Fives scoffed. "You, an ARC Trooper? I hardly believe it myself."

Obi-Wan and Satine just chuckled at the brothers' antics, joining Anakin and Ahsoka in the cockpit.

Ahsoka looked over her shoulder. "Hey, Master. We're just getting ready to make the jump to lightspeed. In 3, 2, 1…"

Satine smiled as the stars rushed by the windows. "I'll never get tired of the view from hyperspace."

Obi-Wan didn't respond at first, simply gazing at the duchess; the way the stars reflected in her icy eyes, the way the light cast shadows on her sharp cheekbones and jaw, her unkempt hair framing her graceful face. He smiled at her, speaking softly, "I'll make sure you can see it as often as you like from now on." He put his hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at him through her long eyelashes.

Ahsoka and Anakin shared a small smile, before Ahsoka looked up at the Master apologetically. "Master, Duchess, I'm very sorry, but could I speak to Master Kenobi alone for a moment?"

Anakin looked at her in surprise, while Obi-Wan cleared his throat, removing his hand from Satine's shoulder. "Pardon me, Duchess. Anakin should be able to keep you entertained for a moment. As long as he behaves himself, that is," he added with a smirk toward his former padawan.

"I'll play nice, Obi-Wan, don't worry about me."

Satine smiled at the young Jedi Knight. "I wouldn't mind getting to converse with Master Skywalker for a few moments. Go ahead, Obi-Wan."

Anakin chuckled. "'Master Skywalker,' huh? I like the sound of that."

Obi-Wan shook his head amusedly before leading Ahsoka away. They made their way to a secluded part of the ship, away from prying eyes and ears. "What is it, Ahsoka? I sense deep distress coming from you."

The togruta began to wring her hands, chewing her lip anxiously. "Well, Master… I wanted to talk to you about… about the presence we felt while leaving Mandalore."

Obi-Wan nodded, frowning deeply. "I thought that I knew the cold of the dark side before. The rage and hatred when I've faced Maul and Dooku were strong, but…"

"Nothing like that… I've never felt so much anger… Not since…" Obi-Wan looked at her questioningly. "Well… not since you faked your death, Master. Rage like that came off of Anakin in waves, but… not until after he talked to Chancellor Palpatine."

Obi-Wan's frown deepened. "Do you think Anakin tapped into the dark side?"

Ahsoka shook her head. "No, not really. He was enraged, sure, but he never used it. He wanted to kill Hardeen, but he knew that you wouldn't have wanted it if you had really been dead."

"I knew that he was angry, but… Was the presence we felt today similar to that?"

"Honestly, Master, Anakin's anger was stronger than Dooku's has ever felt. Maybe even stronger than Maul's today. But this? This was twice as strong as anything else. Colder, filled with more hatred, anger, and raw power than anything I've felt before." Obi-Wan could tell there was something else. "And… well, Master, it could've been my imagination, but… I think I saw a shuttle make its way to the palace when we boarded the transports. And… and it looked familiar."

Obi-Wan leaned forward anxiously. "I didn't spot anything; I was busy guarding Satine. Did you recognize the shuttle? Were you able to place where you've seen it before."

"Well, like I said, it could've been a coincidence, but…"

"Whose shuttle was it, Ahsoka?"

The padawan bit her lip before looking into Obi-Wan's eyes both earnestly and trepidatiously. "It looked a lot like the Chancellor's shuttle."