Upon receiving the transmission, Anakin makes his way to the hangar. He paces back and forth, waiting for the ship to dock. There are so many questions he has. What made Obi-Wan take off in such a rush? Why did he request Anakin's ship? Where has he been?
Steadily, a ship that Anakin doesn't recognize lands in the hangar. Anakin and some of the clones share a look of confusion. That is not the ship that Obi-Wan originally took from him. This one is in much better condition. It looks almost brand new.
The ramp slowly opens, reveling Obi-Wan dressed in red Mandalorian armor. Immediately, Anakin can feel the pain and sadness radiating off of him. This is unusual, almost foreign to Anakin. Obi-Wan has always been good at keeping his shields high, hiding whatever feelings he might have towards anything.
He stumbles off the ramp, his head hung low. Anakin rushes to him, worry flooding through him. "Obi-Wan, what happened? Are you alright?"
"Anakin, I don't want to talk about it." He replies, brushing him off.
Anakin scoffs, watching him walk away. He won't let his former master off the hook that easy. He needs answers. He can't be left in this confusion. Anakin chases after him, sticking close to his side. "Obi-Wan, what is going on?" He demands.
"I said I don't want to talk about it. Can't you listen to me just this one time?" He fires back, pain flashing over his face. Anakin freezes, the sudden outburst from Obi-Wan startling him. It's been a long time since he's heard his master scold him. Obi-Wan looks down, knowing he was wrong to snap at him, but doesn't apologize.
Clones walk past them, keeping their eyes anywhere but on them. The air fills with awkward tension. The clones don't want to be apart of this fight or witness it. Anakin knows that he should leave it alone, but he can't. "Can we talk in private then?" He quietly asks.
Obi-Wan doesn't reply, only turning on his heels. Anakin takes that as a yes. He trails after him, following him into Obi-Wan's private quarters. He closes the door behind them, watching Obi-Wan sink onto the edge of his bed. He's tired and suffering in silence. It wouldn't take a professional to see how exhausted and mentally wounded he is.
Anakin wants to help relieve this from him. He wants to help in any way possible. "Obi-Wan, please. I need some answers about what happened." He begins. "You took off with my ship without reason. I don't hear from you for days, making me have to lie to the Council for you. Then you show up here with a ship that I don't recognize."
"I think you're more worried about what happened to your ship than what will happen to you if you're caught lying," Obi-Wan replies as he removes the armor from his wrists. Anakin doesn't laugh. Humor is their coping mechanism. When they want to avoid talking, they shift the conversation.
That won't work today.
"Start talking." He demands, crossing his arms over his chest. He leans against the door, making it clear that he won't leave until he's told the story, the whole story. Not some watered down tale that only covers the surface of what his master just went through.
"Where's Ahsoka?" Obi-Wan asks, trying to avoid the subject.
"She's with Rex. Now stop ignoring me and spill."
Obi-Wan sighs, his head hanging again. His arms rest on his knees, his back hunched over. It's been a long time since Anakin has seen him like this. Anakin feels almost like he's nine-years-old again, listening to Obi-Wan explain to him that Qui-Gon became one with the Force. He knows something bad has happened. "I went to Mandalore." Obi-Wan finally confesses.
"Mandalore?" Anakin asks with a soft voice. "What's happening there?"
Obi-Wan takes a deep breath, straightening up. Anakin feels him trying to build up his shields again, but it's difficult. It is taking everything in Obi-Wan to remain this stoic and strong. Within the next few minutes, whatever barriers he's trying to reinforce will come tumbling down. "Mandalore has been overthrown. They have a new ruler on the throne."
Anakin sucks in, realizing that something must have happened to the Duchess. And he knows how Obi-Wan feels about her, what they went through together all those years ago. But he stays quiet, waiting for Obi-Wan to continue.
"Satine sent out a request for my help to the Council. But Master Yoda and Master Mundi told me that there was nothing we could do. I would have to wait to let the Republic decide what to do." He says. His eyebrows furrow in anger, the scene replaying in his mind. "But I knew that the Republic would never help a neutral system, especially Mandalore. It would break treaties over a hundred years old, leading us into another war. I was just supposed to let her call go unanswered."
"So you took my ship," Anakin says, nodding his head in understanding.
"Sorry about that," Obi-Wan says, softly frowning. "I didn't mean to lose it. And I wanted to tell you at the time about Mandalore, but I knew that the Council would ask you for my location, and the less you knew the better."
Anakin waves it off. "It was broken anyway. And I understand why you didn't tell me."
Obi-Wan gives him a smile, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. All Anakin sees is sadness. Whatever facade he's putting on, it's only so long before he breaks down. And Anakin will be here to comfort him, just like he did when he was nine. "What happened when you got to Mandalore?"
Obi-Wan turns away, closing his eyes. The memory of that day floods him. He doesn't want to remember it, let alone talk about it. He can still hear her voice, the way it strained to say his name. "I'm not sure I really want to talk about it at the moment."
"Obi-Wan, you can't keep this bottled up," Anakin says, walking towards him. He sits down beside him, hoping that he's showing him that he is someone that his master can confide in. Everyone needs someone. Anakin has Padmé. Obi-Wan can have him. No one can keep everything locked inside themselves.
He takes a shaky breath, his hands trembling in his lap. He knows Anakin is right. But doesn't showing him this side make him seem weak? How can he preach to Anakin about controlling his emotion when even he can't?
But this is Anakin. He will understand that this is just a moment of weakness for him. And besides, it's not like he can go and find one of his other friends to talk about this with. Most of them are on the Council and they can't know that he's disobeyed them. So he swallows down his fear and spills what has happened. "I almost had her." He quietly says. "We were on your ship. We were flying out of the docks, but he was there. He was waiting for me."
"Who?"
Obi-Wan turns, anger in his eyes. "Maul." He spits. "Maul has overthrown Satine. He is ruling Mandalore."
"What does he want with Mandalore?" Anakin asks, confused.
"I don't know, but doesn't matter anymore. He got what he wanted." Obi-Wan says, looking down at his hands.
"What do you mean?" Anakin asks. Obi-Wan remains silent, trying to steady his breathing. He can't close up now. Anakin can't have Obi-Wan shutting him out when he's in this much pain. "Obi-Wan, what did Maul do?"
His fists ball up and his jaw tightens. Anakin can feel the anger and pain radiating off of his master. "He killed Satine." He says through gritted teeth. "He killed her to get back at me. It's all my fault she's dead."
Anakin's stomach drops. "Obi-Wan, don't say that. You didn't kill her." He immediately scolds, his eyes wide at his master. How has he been holding it together for this long? Maul, who killed Qui-Gon, has just killed Satine. How isn't he angrier? Two of the people Obi-Wan cared for are dead at the hands of that beast.
"I did kill her." Obi-Wan fires back, tears pooling in his eyes. The breath is knocked out of Anakin at the sight of him. "I failed her. It was a trap set by Maul and I fell right into it. If I wouldn't have gone to Mandalore, she could still be alive. I should have listened to the Council. I shouldn't have left."
"You couldn't have known. None of this is your fault." Anakin argues.
"This is all my fault. I let my personal feelings for Satine get in the way. Maul killed her all because of me. If I wouldn't have gotten involved, she could still be alive." Obi-Wan rambles. He takes a quick swipe at his cheeks, removing the tears. He looks down, embarrassed. He shouldn't be giving in to his emotions. "Qui-Gon used to try to encourage me to go against the Council when I thought they were wrong. Look what it's brought. Just pain that could have been avoided."
"Obi-Wan, stop it. You can't put all of this blame on yourself. You didn't kill Satine." Anakin says, rising to stand in front of him.
"Then who do I blame?"
"Maul. He killed her."
"Because he knew that I cared for her."
"Because he's evil. He doesn't need a reason to kill. He found Satine and unfortunately discovered you two cared for each other. He did it to make you think that you're at fault when he's the one who took her life."
Obi-Wan remains silent, the fight out of him. Anakin can see how exhausted and hurt he is. And although he doesn't think this talk should end here, he also knows his master. He's a quiet soul who would rather be alone. He needs time to mourn Satine by himself, in his own way. "I know you're in pain." He says, looking down at him. "I'm going to leave you alone now, but I want you to know that I'm here if you need someone to talk to. I know what it's like to lose someone you care deeply for."
Obi-Wan looks up and their eyes meet. He knows that Anakin is referring to his mother. "Thank you." He quietly replies and he silently curses how ragged his voice sounds.
Anakin gives him a sympathetic smile, then leaves him alone. When he exits into the hallway, he practically runs into Ahsoka. "Hey, Master. Is Master Kenobi back? The Council is looking for him."
"Yes, but he needs time to recover." He says, leading her away from his quarters.
"Recover?" Ahsoka repeats, furrowing her eyebrows. "Is Master Kenobi hurt? Is he going to be alright?"
Anakin sighs, lowering his voice. "The Duchess of Mandalore has been killed by Maul. Just tread lightly him right now, okay?"
Ahsoka tilts her head. "I don't understand."
"They were close a long time ago." He briefly says. "They cared deeply for each other. Hearing about her death is hurting him a lot more than he's letting on. So to help him from having to admit that he's in pain let's just be careful about her at the moment."
Ahsoka slightly bows her head, understanding. She didn't know even Jedi like Master Kenobi could be tempted to fall in love. "I understand. I'll try not to bring it up around him."
xxx
Anakin comes rushing to Obi-Wan's room. He pounds on the door, knowing he's inside. When the door opens, Anakin blows past him. Obi-Wann rolls his eyes, closing the door to turn around and face Anakin. "What is the Council thinking? They can't possibly think that Ahsoka is responsible for the bombing."
"Anakin, keep your voice down." Obi-Wan scolds, crossing his arms over his chest. "We're not supposed to be discussing this with anyone, including her master."
"I need to know what is going on. I want to keep Ahsoka safe and I don't think that expelling her is right." Anakin declares. He sits at his former spot on the couch. Obi-Wan follows him, sitting in his respective spot as well.
"I don't think it's right either." Obi-Wan agrees. "I know Ahsoka. She didn't bomb the Temple."
"Then why don't you tell them that? I know they'll listen to you. For whatever reason, they seem to blindly trust you." Anakin rants, furrowing his eyebrows at him.
Obi-Wan arches his eyebrow. "Perhaps it's because I've never given them a reason to distrust me." He fires back. He shakes his head, going back to the subject. "And I did tell them, but they didn't want to hear it. They want someone to blame for the deaths of those Jedi."
"But it wasn't Ahsoka!"
"I know!" Obi-Wan replies, his voice rising. "You don't need to tell me this. I am with you, I think that this idea is wrong. I don't think we should expel her."
"So you're going to vote against the Council?"
Obi-Wan lowers his head. "I never said that." He quietly replies.
Anakin leans forward, glaring at him. "You're going to vote with them? You're going to expel her?"
Obi-Wan frowns, sagging his shoulders. "I don't think that it's right, but I am going to vote with them. I know that Ahsoka is innocent and I know that they won't find her responsible."
"Then why are you voting with them to expel Ahsoka?" Anakin scoffs with a laugh. "Isn't that backward?"
"I went against the Council recently and all I brought was pain." Obi-Wan says, narrowing his eyes at Anakin. Immediately, Anakin knows that he's referring to his trip to Mandalore and the death of Satine. "Maybe this is the right way to find out Ahsoka is innocent. I don't think that it's right, but that doesn't mean that it's wrong."
"It is wrong. How can this possibly help her?"
"I don't know, but I don't want to go against the Council and make it harder for Ahsoka. I don't want to make a mistake with her as I did with Satine. I don't want to make it even worse for her." Obi-Wan argues. "I know you don't agree with this logic, but I don't know what to do."
Anakin shakes his head, sighing. He realizes that he can't get anywhere with Obi-Wan. Because of what happened when he went against the Council, Obi-Wan will never disobey their orders again. Anakin now sees why Qui-Gon had such a hard time trying to get Obi-Wan to follow his own path.
He was wrong one time and he is too afraid to be wrong again.
Anakin can somewhat understand this. What happened to Satine was awful, but that wouldn't happen to Ahsoka. If Obi-Wan would just get some courage and tell them that it's wrong, then they wouldn't be having this fight right now.
He rises from his seat. Obi-Wan's eyes watch him. "I know you're angry at me, but just know that I'm doing this because I think that she's innocent. If this proves it to the Council, that's all that matters."
Anakin doesn't say anything. He realizes that the man in front of him has lost all faith he has ever had in himself. This war has taken everything from them, but he won't let it take Ahsoka too. He just exits, anger fuming off of him. If he can't get any help from Obi-Wan, then he will just have to do it all himself.
~~~~~~~~~~~
I like to think that the death of Satine is what made Obi-Wan have a hard-on for the Council. Like that maybe he blames her death on himself because he went against them and from that moment on he just does what they say so that nothing bad happens again. Like that's why he won't go to Mandalore and why he agreed to have Anakin spy on Palpatine when he knew how close they were. So that's why he told Ahsoka the Council isn't always right because he didn't think they were right but was too chicken to disagree and be wrong. Idk, just a theory of mine.
Also I literally have like 5+ half-written stories and it drives me crazy that I haven't finished them yet. Hopefully, I'll be able to find some more free time soon to clean them up and publish them soon.