Revenge

Chapter 17. Fall of the Republic

"Of course not Obi-Wan!" Anakin yelled in aggression. "Why are you accusing me of such things? Do you want to spread lies so that I could be humiliated by Master Windu again?!" he accused.

"Anakin-" he tried to explain but the younger Jedi cut him off. "Get out," he pointed towards the door. Obi-Wan sighed. When he seems to make no motion, Anakin repeats himself, "Get out!"

The Jedi Master's face turned slightly sad and left the place, leaving Anakin alone to his thoughts.

Once he was out, Anakin broke down to his bed. What if he found out? Would he tell the Council? What would happen to me and Padmé if word spread out?

Anakin stayed in bead for the next hour, thinking of the worse possible outcome had his secret spill out. Apart of him was furious at Obi-Wan, but apart of him felt sorry for yelling at him like that.

"I'm sorry Master," he whispered to the empty air.

-------------------------------------------------

Satine waited in the landing platform. The sun was shining brightly over the Republic's capital planet. "Where is he?" Satine wondered aloud, tapping her foot to the metal floor.

As if her wishes came true, the man she's waiting for finally came to sight. As the ship was parked in the available space, the Duchess of Mandalore crossed her arms. Obi-Wan rushed towards her. "Sorry about being late, I was preparing my troops. We're leaving for Utapau later on today."

"I understand."

There was an awkward silence. Both knew well the future they're heading, and yet there was dread in it. The feeling of not wanting to let go. But at the end of it all, both knew which choice would they choose. Duty over love, no matter how painful it is.

"What did Skywalker say?" Satine asked curiously, breaking the silence. Obi-Wan sighed quietly. "He denied and he got really angry at me."

"Oh," she responded, "I'm so sorry for making you ask that to him," she apologized. Obi-Wan shook his head. "It's not your fault Satine." There was more silence.

"When will you be visiting Coruscant again?" Obi-Wan changed the topic. It took some time for Satine to respond, but eventually she did. "I don't really know," she admitted, "Maybe in years or even decades."

"You'd be old by then," Obi-Wan joked. Satine chuckled lightly. "..and married." Her laughter stop and her face fell. "What makes you think that?" she questioned in all seriousness. "You deserve a man who actually can be by your side Satine, and we both know that I can never be that man."

There was a pause. Her eyes started to look glassy. "I don't care," she whispered, "I only want one person. You."

As the air became tense surrounding them, Satine fixed her composure. "I need to go. We won't have any communications after this so it will probably be like before the war." Obi-Wan nodded in agreement.

"Goodbye Duchess." The words pained him and only people who examined closely can see it in his face. The Jedi Master had mastered the art of hiding your emotions.

"Goodbye Master Jedi."

But that wasn't enough. Satine glanced at her back to look at her guards. All she knows are that they're out of earshot and they weren't looking. She walked towards him.

Obi-Wan stiffen up, unsure why. Satine got closer and closer until she was right in front of him. She went to his left side, just beside his ear. She whispered those three words.

"I love you."

Satine gave a quick peck on the cheek and teasingly walked away, smiling. But the smile quickly dissolve away once she was looking at the other way. Obi-Wan only stood there. He was caught surprised and his face suddenly blushed but he quickly hide it away. He watched as Satine entered her ship.

Just before she entered, Satine looked back to the platform, back to her love. They share one last eye contact before she turned around went into the ship, disappearing from his view.

Obi-Wan wondered if that would be the last time he met her. And our goodbye is in a platform once again, with one of us leaving the other.

The Jedi Master knew he have duties to do, just like her. He have to capture, or possibly even kill, Grievous. Sighing, he turned back towards his ship and flew away.

-------------------------------------------------

Satine stared down from the balcony of the Palace. A few days ago she did this in Coruscant, the only difference was that it was night time, and she was with the man she loves. What could he be doing right now? She wondered. She had found herself thinking about him ever since she left Coruscant no matter how much she wants to cut ties off.

Suddenly, a voice called her name. Pushing away her thoughts, Satine looked towards the Palace and the Minister of Interior, Armatan, came. "Duchess, we received word from our Senator from Coruscant," he informed her with a worried tone.

"And then?" she asked, not sure where this is going. "The Republic has been formed to into the Galactic Empire!"

"What?!" she said with disbelief. "The Republic is a democracy, not a dictatorship! Who changed this?"

"I believe it's Emperor Palpatine, Duchess," he answered. Satine couldn't believe her ears. Of course that little slime ball is behind everything!

"I want to see the message myself," Satine demanded. The minister nodded. He escorted her towards the room, just a small walk from the throne room. How could this happen? Satine thought to herself. How could the Republic fell so easily?

The doors to the room opened and Satine walked in. It was dimly lit and there was a holo-table in the middle. "The Senator gave us this voice recording of the meeting Duchess," he informed her. He quickly prepared the recording, not wanting to keep her waiting. "You may leave now," she dismissed once he's done. The minister bowed before he turned to the door and leave.

Satine is now left alone in the room. She pressed the button and the recording starts. Her right hand held her chin as she listened carefully.

"And the Jedi rebellion has been foiled,"

"What?!" Satine couldn't believe what she heard. Not even a second in and he's already saying stupid things.

"The remaining Jedi will be hunted and defeated!"
A wave of applause then came, cheering at him.

There was only one thing that came to her mind. Obi-Wan! "No," Satine said to herself, horrified. Her breathing became short as negative thoughts filled her head. She covered her mouth with her hand. If that's not enough, the sound of applause from the Senators made her feel sick. How could they trust him so much?

"The attempt on my life has left me scarred and deformed. But I assure you, my resolve has never been stronger!"
The applause came back.

"Perhaps you deserve that scarring," she muttered under her breath, though no one is there to listen to her.

"In order to ensure the security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire!"
The applause was now thunderous.

"Nonsense," Satine half shouted. She turned the recording off, sick of it. She released a deep breath and covered her face with her hands. How can things go south this fast? How can the storm come without thunders coming first?

She's not going to follow this. Dictatorship will never work. But there was no choice. If she backs away now, the Empire would only occupy Mandalore and her people would suffer more.

Satine cursed at Palpatine internally for leaving her with no choice. For now Mandalore must be apart of the Empire, wether she likes it or not. But she know that she's not going to just stand around and do nothing. Satine never had an idea this radical before. She would rebel.

Author's note:
This is super late I know I've been procrastinating and I'm also busy with online class aaaaaaaaaa. Also guys don't kill me for this.