BATTLE SCARS [✓]

× Chapter Forty Eight: Death Watch ×

"Mal, what did you see in your vision?" Obi-Wan asked, Mal looking to Satine. "A bomb goes off. It was meant for the Duchess, but she was too far away. But..people still died."

"Who did it? I need to know!" Duchess Satine responded in a panic and Mal shook her head. "I'm not sure, but-" Mal stopped mid sentence when an explosion went off. Obi-Wan covered both her and Satine as small debris went flying and looked back seeing people down.

"Are you both okay?" Obi-Wan asked, Mal looking at the people. "Yes. Duchess?"

"I'm alright. How did you know this would happen?" Satine asked, Mal shaking her head. "I'll explain later, your highness, but we have to check on your people."

Satine nodded, standing up and rushing towards a man who lied injured on the ground. Mal watched, cursing herself for not stopping it sooner and she looked to Obi-Wan. "Master, I...saw something else."

"What did you see?" Obi-Wan asked, Mal looking from him to Satine. "It was a flash, a small glimpse, but I remember it vividly. I saw one of the windows in the palace, and on it, it was a woman, holding a baby. I know its not important, but it came to me during the vision."

"If it came to you, then it must be important." Obi-Wan replied, approaching Satine, leaving Mal to her thoughts. Why did she see that? Of all things to have a vision of, why the window in the palace? Mal knew she had to look into this, but for now, she had to help the people in need.

"A group of single hooligans couldn't have done something of this scale." Obi-Wan said to the Duchess just as Mal approached them both, seeing the Duchess holding a man in her arms. "Then this must be the work of an off-worlder."

"Um..I don't think so." Mal replied, pointing to the holographic symbol displayed not too far away from the Duchess. "What's that?"

"The sign of Death Watch."

Mal looked around the area, observing and basically scouting around, thinking the perpetrator was still around. She couldn't tell because everyone looked frightened, terrified.

"We need to get you back to the palace, your highness. It's not safe out here." Obi-Wan assured, helping the Duchess to her feet. "Master, we should interview the people here. Maybe they may have saw something out of the ordinary. We would need to know every detail." Mal suggested, looking to the people.

"Alright, Maleshei, take the palace guards and question everyone here. I'll escort the Duchess back to the palace." Obi-Wan suggested, Mal nodding. "Yes, Maste-"

Mal was interrupted by shouting and turned around to see a man running away. Mal ran after him, Obi-Wan following after, both of them chasing the man to a lower part of the platform. Mal came to a stop just as the man stood at the balcony.

"Stop running, sir. I just need to speak with you." Mal tried, holding up her hands to show she wasn't a threat. The man looked at her then behind her seeing Obi-Wan with the Duchess behind him and hopped on the railing.

"Sir! Don't jump, please!" Mal pleaded, trying to approach him. It was too late for her had went over and fall to his death. Mal gasped, looking over and seeing the man quickly slipping into the darkness.

Mal jumped over the rail, using her powers to slow her fall and approached the man.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..I just wanted to fight for our cause.." The man spoke, only it was in a different language that somehow Mal understood. "It's okay. But I need to know who's behind this attack. Who is this Death Watch?"

"They're...they're the people fighting to...save...Mandalore...." Was all the man said before he went limp. Mal blinked in confusion, not sure what he meant by it. What did he mean by 'fight for our cause'? Why try and kill the Duchess when there can be a peaceful democracy? There were too many questions on Mal's mind, but she snapped out of her thoughts, looking up to see the Duchess behind her and now Obi-Wan joined her.

"How could you understand him?" Duchess Satine asked, Mal shaking her head. "I-I don't know, I just..did."

"Who are you, Mal Trek?" Was all Satine asked and honestly, Mal couldn't really answer her. Mal didn't even know anymore. Jax never taught her any other languages, yet she understood the man perfectly well.

For some reason, her thoughts went back to the window in the palace. The woman and the baby. She didn't know why, but she had to find out who it was.

"Duchess, do you happen to have a window in the palace of a woman and a baby on it?"

---

It was a quiet walk back into the palace. Mal looked between Obi-Wan and Satine, Mal realizing how shaky Satine was and she felt really bad for the Duchess. All she wanted to do was stay neutral for a people, but because of the history of Mandalorians being renowned warriors, someone most likely still believes in this idea and is trying to make a statement.

Mal sighed, looking away from the Duchess and around the palace. Not long after, they were approaching the throne room when Mal looked up, seeing the mosaic pieces on the windows of the palace. One of them stood out to her almost immediately and she stopped instantly. "This is the one.."

Satine turned around, seeing that the Padawan had stopped and was staring up at the window with an image of a woman holding a baby in her arms. The woman had light brown hair, sea green eyes, and was wearing a navy blue dress with shimmering blue diamonds. The baby had the same green eyes and had auburn hair and was wrapped in a white blanket. Just like her vision. "This is what I saw in my vision. Who are they?"

"That..that was my sister, Amelia. And..her daughter, Briar. They went missing about 17 years ago when a war broke out on Mandalore. Some believe Amelia is still alive, but, for me, I'm...not so sure." Satine explained, Mal looking at the window with extremely wide eyes. 17 years ago? There was no way. It was a little strange that Mal knew the dialect used on Concordia, Mandalore's moon, but she felt crazy that she was even considering the possibility.

"Are you alright?" Satine asked, Mal looking to her, still with wide eyes and she hesitantly nodded. "I-I-I'm f-fine. Um, I need to step outside for a moment."

She excused herself, walking away quickly out f the throne room and down a glass enclosed hallway. It would make sense why her parents treated her like crap, but it still didn't make sense in the end. It's not a coincidence that the baby looks exactly like her. And it's no coincidence that she understood Concordia's language. She needed to find out the truth, and for some reason, she feels her answers lay hidden either on Mandalore or on Concordia.