Setting: Mandalore – Sundari Outskirts | Royal Terrace | Temple Hangar
The Mandalorian Challenge
Just before dawn, Bo-Katan stood before Cain, armor donned and helm at her side, the sigil of her house etched into her chestplate.
Behind her, several loyal Mandalorians stood in silence—watching, not with weapons, but with ritual gravity.
"You want an alliance," she said, "then prove it."
Cain, flanked by Anakin and Serra, waited quietly.
Bo continued, "There is a rite older than Satine's peace and Pre Vizsla's rage. We call it Parjur'kar'la'vhetin—the Promise of Ash. Not a duel. A test of trust."
She stepped forward.
"You'll go into the Foundry of Oaths. Alone. There, you'll choose one of three blades—each forged for a different path: domination, diplomacy, or unity. You bring back the one you believe reflects Mandalore's future."
Serra raised a brow. "And if he chooses wrong?"
Bo smirked. "Then I know he's just another dreamer."
Cain looked at her, calm. "And if I choose right?"
Bo's face grew serious.
"Then you walk with my banner… when the time comes."
The Foundry of Oaths
The chamber was carved into the bedrock beneath Sundari's ancient domes, lit only by flickering braziers.
Cain stepped into the circle. Three stone pedestals. Three blades.
One dark as night, jagged and cruel—domination.
One sleek, polished, ceremonial—diplomacy.
One tempered, battle-worn but balanced—unity.
He closed his eyes.
"Not what looks noble. Not what conquers. But what carries both."
He reached… and chose the third.
When he returned, Bo stared at the blade in silence.
Then she reached into her belt, pulled a piece of darksteel chain, and wrapped it around the hilt—a Mandalorian symbol of shared fate.
"You pass."
Satine and Obi-Wan – The Private Reckoning
Elsewhere, in the palace gardens, Obi-Wan and Satine stood beneath the marble arch of an old monument—one built during the last civil war.
She was quiet for a long time before speaking.
"Why did you come back, Obi-Wan?"
He looked up. "Because the Council sent me. And because I… needed to see you again."
She smiled bitterly. "To what end? You still wear their robe. Still carry the same blade."
Obi-Wan's voice lowered. "But my heart isn't the same."
Satine turned sharply, emotions welling. "Don't say that unless you mean it."
"I do," he said. "And I meant it then. If you'd asked, I would've left the Order."
Silence. Pure, aching silence.
"Then why didn't you say it?"
"Because I thought duty mattered more," he whispered. "And I was wrong."
She didn't answer.
But this time, when he reached for her hand—she didn't pull away.
Cain and Satine – The Debate of Ideals
As Cain prepared to leave Sundari, Satine requested to speak with him in her private office—curious now, thanks to Bo's unexpected shift in tone.
She studied him from across her desk, arms folded.
"You've stirred quite a lot of chaos for a ten-year-old offworlder."
Cain stood calmly. "Only because truth tends to shake foundations."
Satine arched a brow. "What would a child know of foundations?"
He stepped forward slowly.
"I've seen what happens when idealism is preached without protection. I've seen pacifism crushed under boots, and noble speeches silenced by blasters."
She scoffed. "So we should all live like warriors? Kill or be killed?"
"No," Cain said. "But pretending the world is better than it is doesn't make it safer. Peace is only peace if it can stand. And Mandalore can't stand if its people are too divided to defend what they value."
Satine's tone sharpened. "You speak like a general."
Cain's golden eyes locked onto hers.
"I speak like someone who's seen worlds fall."
She flinched—just slightly.
Cain continued.
"You and Bo are opposite ends of the same blade. But blades without purpose become relics."
He took a quiet breath.
"I won't ask you to change your path. I'm asking you… to leave space for the future. Because one day soon, Bo-Katan will come to you—not to fight—but to lead. And if you don't listen then, Mandalore burns."
Satine stared at him.
"You really believe that?"
Cain nodded.
"With everything I am."
The Departure and the Last Echo
Back aboard the diplomatic shuttle, as Mandalore shrank behind them, Serra asked, "Think you got through to either of them?"
Cain didn't answer immediately.
Then:
"No. Not yet. But the roots are planted."
Anakin smirked. "And when they bloom?"
Cain looked at the stars ahead.
"We'll have the army we need… before the war begins."
But Bo-Katan's last words before he left echoed in his mind:
"If you fall, I'll finish what you started. If you rise… I'll fight at your side."