( 22 BBY )
Obi-Wan hadn't spoken to Duchess Satine in a long time. She hardly resembled the young woman from his memories, but he supposed she probably felt the same about him.
Obi almost felt like his memories from before Qui-Gon's death came from a different life altogether, lived by someone else that he hardly recognised. Other times, Obi-Wan still felt like not a day had passed, and he was the exact same young man, starving and confused in the swamps of Naboo.
Was this how Yoda felt? Or Qui-Gon? The young looked to Obi-Wan for wisdom and guidance, and most of the time he felt like he had none to offer. He was just muddling through, making a mess of things as he went. That was why it was often Anakin who had to save him, the Chosen One with so much potential. In contrast, Obi-Wan felt stagnant. Was he really helping Anakin to reach his incredible potential? Or was he a weight strapped to his ankle?
Reaching out to the Senator for Mandalore secured Obi-Wan a meeting with the Duchess, which should help bring in a few leads for the investigation.
"So when do we go to see her?" Anakin asked, and Obi looked at his padawan. Did he really want to bring Anakin along to this, when it was already bound to be awkward at best, if not outright humiliating? Satine's reaction to him yesterday showed that absence had clearly failed to make the heart grow fonder.
"I think we should aim to use our time more efficiently." Obi-Wan said. "We'll split up, and pursue different leads."
Anakin smirked. "Master, if you want some alone time with a lady, I will have to inform Master Windu."
Obi-Wan had to hide a wince at that. Obviously the boy was teasing, but that didn't mean he wouldn't spread gossip if he wasn't given a good reason not to.
"I was thinking that perhaps you could interview Senator Amidala." Obi-Wan offered. "While I speak to the Mandalorians."
Anakin immediately perked up at that. "To use our time efficiently."
Obi-Wan had to contain his own smile. "Yes, of course."
Anakin hesitated for a moment. Then he said to Obi-Wan with a concerned look in his eyes. "Don't let yourself get distracted though. These people almost killed a Senator, and we need to find them."
Obi-Wan would have scoffed. Him? The one distracted? Anakin was the one who couldn't hide his crush to save his own life! "Yes, of course. That goes for you as well. As much as you might enjoy catching up with the Senator, take your compad and be sure to take plenty of notes. Remember, if Mace asks us about the progress of the investigation, we will need something to show for ourselves."
When Anakin left, Kenobi closed the door behind him, before taking out his own device. It took him a moment to look up the Mandalorian Senator's office online, and he started to dial their number when he hesitated. With a sigh, he hit back and went to his list of personal contacts, before scrolling down to S, and finding Satine's personal number, still right there.
Yes, officially he should be going through the proper channels for the investigation, but he was worried about how she could answer questions in an official capacity. Anything that she said could end up in public, making her reluctant to speak honestly about the people around her.
Maybe he should just call her privately.
Plus, he really hadn't gotten a chance to speak with her at all for more than a decade.
In the end, he couldn't quite bring himself to hit dial, so instead he typed up a message to her. Is there a time and place to meet? To talk.
He put the device down and walked away from it, pacing back and forth for a few moments and getting his nerves back under control. You're acting like a child. He told himself. You're a Jedi Knight, investigating a crime. She probably barely thinks about you any more than you thought about her.
Almost immediately Kenobi grimaced, because he often thought about Satine, and did so with a mix of regret and nostalgia. At the time, he'd already had a foot out of the Order. He was ready to leave, just hesitating on the threshold. All Satine would have had to do was ask, and he would have hung up his lightsaber.
Instead, she had become the Duchess of Mandalore, and Obi-Wan had gone back to Qui-Gon just long enough to see him get murdered.
His Holocom dinged with an incoming message, and Obi-Wan saw that Satine had responded. There was no date, just a time about an hour from now, and an address. Not giving himself a chance to think about it, Obi-Wan threw on his robe and stepped outside to fight the Coruscant traffic.
While his speeder was in the air, Obi-Wan cued up in the slow moving lanes of traffic and focussed on his driving to keep his mind from wandering as he carefully tried to release his feelings into the Force. Despite his best efforts, he found the worried knot in his stomach growing tighter and tighter as he came closer to the address.
Arriving in front of a hotel, he was greeted immediately by a droid chauffeur who informed him that he was expected. He followed the droid into the building and up to the top floor, where he sensed a Force Sensitive mind in the room waiting for him. Duchess Satine's new Jedi protector no doubt, provided by the Indinoor Temple.
The woman who greeted him at the door had black hair, green eyes, and up close Obi-Wan realised she was younger than Anakin.
The Indinoor Temple was awfully short staffed if a Padawan was all they could spare to protect the ruler of an entire sector. Then he noticed the durasteel Chain of Office around her neck, and he suddenly recalled that it signified she was a Knight.
He paused at that, opening his mouth to ask a question that he immediately realised would cause offence and closed it. She was far too young to be a Jedi Knight. In the Coruscant Temple they whispered that Dooku had raised his own daughter to the rank already, but Obi-Wan recalled nothing about some other prodigy. He raised his gaze from the ring on her chest to her face, and found her green eyes focussed on him with a cold, detached intensity that it took him a moment to place. She was a soldier. He realised. Only combat veterans had a gaze like that.
What in the blazes were those maniacs up to out there?
Coughing slightly to clear his throat, Obi-Wan stepped back and bowed, like he would to another Knight. It was awkward, given how young she was, but he wasn't here to start a fight, just to talk to Satine.
After a long moment of silence, the young woman put her hands together and gave him a similar bow.
"I'm Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi."
"Jedi Knight Vai Victus." She finally stepped aside, letting him through the door.
Obi-Wan walked down the hallways, feeling her stare boring a hole into the back of his neck as she followed behind him, before they arrived at the living room, where Satine was already reclining on a soft chair.
She didn't rise to greet him, but there was a steaming pot of tea on the table between them. She wasn't dressed up in her usual ruling regalia, wearing just the robes without any of the jewelry or overwear.
Despite the injuries she'd taken only a few days ago, the only hint that there was anything wrong was the faint blue glow coming from the centre of her pupils, which otherwise looked perfectly organic. Such subtle cybernetic work must have been very expensive…
"I'm glad to see you look well." Obi-Wan said, and smiled at her. "Do you feel better?"
"I'm fine, Obi." Satine replied. "Please, take a seat."