The Delusions of Dreamers

One

"Duchess Satine!" Master Qui-Gon yelled as he and Obi-Wan burst through the double doors to the throne room.  And there she was.  Satine Kryze sat on her throne with her nose high in the air, as if her life were not in any danger.  She looked very young to be a duchess, with big blue eyes and fair skin.  Thankfully, several guards were stationed around her.

"Duchess, we must leave immediately!" Qui-Gon panted, stopping a few feet before her guards.  "There is to be an assassination attempt on your life! We—"

"Excuse me," the duchess said.  "Who are you?" She raised a blonde eyebrow.

"Forgive me, my lady.  I am Qui-Gon Jinn, Jedi Master, and this is my apprentice—"

"Obi-Wan Kenobi," the young Padawan stated with a smile.

The duchess sighed.  "Yes, but what gives you the authority to burst into my palace and demand that I leave my throne and my people?"

"Um..." Qui-Gon shifted from foot to foot, stroking his dark beard.  Obi-Wan sensed the tension rising in the room, and he didn't like it one bit.  "Well, the Jedi Council sent us to protect you, Duchess.  And our spies have reported rumors of an assassination attempt—"

"You have spies on Mandalore?" Satine demanded, rising from her seat. "Do you not trust me, Jedi?"

Qui-Gon's eyes widened. "No!" he cried.  "Of course the Senate and the Jedi trust you! We-"

As Obi-Wan's master tried to please the duchess, he remembered what Qui-Gon had said earlier: Let me do all the talking, Obi-Wan.  The duchess is a... difficult woman.  Obi-Wan was beginning to see that for himself, but he was going to take matters into his own hands. 

"My dear Duchess Satine," Obi-Wan called, taking a step towards her.  The guards stiffened.  "We mean no harm.  We only wish to protect you from the violence raging on Mandalore.  We know you believe in peace, and we respect that.  But we want you to be out of harm's way because we personally and genuinely care about your well-being.  So please, I beg you, come with us, and we can help you during this time of trials."

Satine stayed silent for a moment.  Then she started laughing.

What was so funny? Had he said something wrong?

"Quite the politician you have there, Qui-Gon." She looked Obi-Wan up and down.  "You sound more like a senator... what was it? Ah, Obi-Wan." She smiled at him, but it wasn't exactly kind.  He didn't really know what to think about the woman.  "You make a good argument, Padawan, but I will not run from this violence.  I shall smother it with peace."

"And how exactly do you plan to do that, Duchess?" Qui-Gon inquired.

"I—" Satine didn't get to finish before glass was raining down on her head.

She screamed as dozens of Old Mandalorians crashed through the stained glass windows.  They started firing at her with their blasters, but Qui-Gon whipped out his green lightsaber and deflected some of the shots.  Obi-Wan followed suit.

Satine's guards roared and charged at the assassins in Mandalorian armour.  They swung their staffs around with skill, electrocuting some of the attackers. 

"Stop this!" the Duchess cried from her platform.  She was standing on her marble throne, waving her hands in the air angrily.  "Stop this violence!"

"Obi-Wan!" Qui-Gon shouted.  "Get the duchess out of here! There's a speeder outside; I'll meet you there." Obi-Wan gave a firm nod and took off, deflecting a few blasts behind his back.

He pushed through a couple of guards and skidded to a stop before the duchess.  He took his stance, ready to protect the young lady with his blue lightsaber.  "Duchess Satine!" He yelled.  "I must escort you outside!"

"No!" she argued, glaring down at him.  "I am not going anywhere! My guards will protect me." Obi-Wan glanced nervously at the battle before them.  The Old Mandalorians were closing in.  

"Um, I'm sorry, my dear..." Then Obi-Wan grabbed the Duchess of Mandalore around her legs and slung her over his shoulder.

"Oh, my goodness!" Satine huffed, pounding his back with her fists.  "Put me down this instant!"

"I said I was sorry!" Obi-Wan grimaced.  He started running towards the right side of the throne room and wrapped his arm tightly around the Duchess.  "Also, you might not like this either.  Brace yourself."

"What—!" But then the Padawan had slashed at the last stained glass window with his lightsaber, and the two landed in a tangle of limbs outside of the palace.  

"Are you alright?" Obi-Wan asked, hastily checking her for wounds.  He tried to help her up, but she batted his hand away.

She let out a shrill laugh.  "Am I alright?" She dusted the dirt and shards of glass off of her fine dress.  "I almost died.  Because of you!" She poked him in the chest, rage sparking in her eyes.

Obi-Wan was about to apologize, but he was done being nice.  "If it weren't for me, you probably would be dead," he growled.  Satine's eyebrows shot up, probably surprised by his outburst. "Now, come on." He grabbed her roughly by the hand and dragged her around the palace.

"So uncivilized," she complained, and ripped her hand from Obi-Wan's grasp.

They finally found the speeder at the back of the palace, and they hopped on.  Satine looked livid, but she wasn't running away, so Obi-Wan saw that as a good sign.  The Padawan tapped his communicator on his wrist.  "Qui-Gon? Where are you? Do you need help?"

"I'm right here!" the Jedi Master cried.  He came running around from the left side of the palace, his robes flying behind him and blast shots ringing around him.

"Hop on!" Obi-Wan encouraged, and his Master jumped.  He landed with a roll onto the speeder, the whole thing shaking.  And then they took off.

"Get them!" The Old Mandalorians roared from behind them, but there wasn't another speeder nearby.

Qui-Gon retracted his lightsaber and bent over to catch his breath.  "How is... the Duchess?" he asked Obi-Wan.  

He glanced back at Satine, who was sitting as far away as possible.  She looked like she wanted to murder someone, probably him.

"Fantastic," Obi-Wan said with a nervous chuckle.  Then he focused on getting their group far away from the palace and into the messier, busier parts of Mandalore.  They may have escaped the assassins at the palace, but there were many more threats yet to come.