Slavery Is A Crime

Chapter 16

- Mandalore

Kenobi lay in the medical bed, staring at the ceiling while the Duchess was seated next to him. Suddenly, he spoke up. "Dearest..." He turned his head toward her. "How long do you think I'll be in bed like this?" he asked.

Smiling, the Duchess shrugged. "How should I know, Ben. Am I medic?" she asked, teasingly. Rolling his eyes, a smile cracked its way onto Kenobi's face as well, then a sigh escaped his lips. Satine frowned. "What is it, Ben?" she asked quietly.

Sighing yet again, Kenobi's eyes met hers. "I can tell that you are hurt by the fact that I am hurt, my dear. I sense it through the Force. But... my darling, you mustn't worry so. I'll be up again before you know and you'll have nothing to fe-" He was cut off by Satine.

"Nothing to fear?! Ben, I don't understand how you can be so calm about all this and tell me I have nothing to fear when every day of your life you're constantly getting shot at, sometimes even burned by a lightsaber, and to make things worse? Things like this can happen! Torture! I've tried to respect your decision of staying with the Jedi, Ben, but-" She was cut off by his lips on hers.

Pulling away after a minute, Kenobi looked her in the eyes. "My dear, you forget that it's all for the greater good." Shaking her head, the Duchess continued to disagree. "But at what cost? this is what I'm trying to tell you, Ben. Every day, thousands upon thousands of innocent lives are taken away because of the killing in this war. That is what angers me, Ben!" she shouted with a mighty fury.

Sighing, Kenobi looked down at his hands. "If you wish, my dear... I will resign from the Jedi and stay here with you, my beautiful Mandalore lily," he said quietly, eyes meeting hers, as he took her hand in his and began kissing each knuckle.

"Oh, Ben... You know that's not what I... Ben, I can't ask you to do that," she said. "You're not, my dear. It's my-" He winced and brought a hand to his side. "It's my choice. I want to be with my family. I want to be with my wife and my son," he said.

Satine gave a small smile. "Ben- Wait, a minute. How did you..." A smug smirk appeared on the man's face. "Jedi, dear." Rolling her eyes, she kissed his cheek, "I'm sure Korkie will be glad to see you too, as well you meeting your sister-in-law," she said.

"Yes, of cour- Wait... Sister-in-law? You never told me you had a sister," he stated, puzzled. It was now Satine's turn to smirk. "I'm surprised you were able to sense your son, but not Bo," she replied smugly. Kenobi narrowed his eyes playfully. "Yes, but that was because he had my blood and so I could sense that he was strong in the Force," he said. "But I never expected you to have a sister. I always thought you were an only child." "Well, you're not the only one who can have surprises."

Shaking his head, he looked lovingly into her eyes. "It's settled then; Tomorrow I com the Temple and inform them that I'm staying here with my, Cyar'ika," he said with a smile as he took her hand in his.

- Mandalore

After a lot of persuasion, Obi-Wan was finally able to get the doctors in the medbay to let him in the communications room of the palace to make his call to the Council. Obi-Wan, with the help of Satine, walked towards the room, then sat in a chair to ease his aching muscles and bones.

"Are you sure you want to do this, my Dearest One?" Satine asked in her quiet, accented voice. Obi-Wan gave her a warm smile. "Of course, my love. Remember what I said, 'Had you said the word, I would've left the Jedi Order.'? Well, dearest, that time is now," Obi-Wan replied.

"But Ben, I-" Obi-Wan held up a hand. "I know you're going to say. 'You never said the word.' I know you didn't, but I've made up my mind. This is what I want." Satine raised an eyebrow. "Positive?" she inquired. "Yes. That is... if you'll still have me..." Obi-Wan said meekly.

Now it was Satine's turn to give him the warm smile. "Always, my Shining Jedi Knight," she said. Obi-Wan gave her an affectionate kiss on the cheek, then proceeded to call the Jedi Temple back on Coruscant.

After a few minutes, there was finally an answer. Master Yoda was the first to speak. "Master Kenobi. Good to see you alive, it is," he said. Obi-Wan nodded in acknowledgment. "Thank you, Master Yoda. I'm sorry to have been gone so long. I hope I didn't worry anyone."

A chuckle came from the small Jedi, then Master Windu spoke up. "Is there a reason you've called us from Mandalore?" Putting an arm around Satine's waist, Obi-Wan said, "Yes, actually. I'd like to inform you that I've decided to resign from the Order."

All eyes were wide and all noise of Masters talking among themselves went silent. After about five whole minutes of silence, Master Windu spoke up again. "And do you have a valid reason for your resignation, Master Kenobi?"

Obi-Wan's eyes narrowed slightly in determination. "Master Windu, I'm afraid my reason will not seem like a logical enough reason to you, but I've decided to leave the Jedi and stay here on Mandalore with my wife Satine and my son Korkie," Obi-Wan said, purposefully putting emphasis on the words wife and son.

Obi-Wan felt a smirk make its way onto his face as he watched all the Council members' eyes go wide, jaws dropping to the floor. Why even Master Windu was shocked, and Obi-Wan would've laughed had he not still had respect for the people before him.

Finally, Windu narrowed his eyes and spoke out a response. "Kenobi, this unacceptable. You are not given a resignation, you are hereby expelled from the Jedi Order." This time, it was Obi-Wan and Satine's turn to be surprised. Expelled...? Well now, I wasn't expecting that... Obi-Wan thought.

[Mando'a Translations: Cyar'ika - Darling, Beloved, Sweetheart]