AN: Hey, long time no see. Wanna hear a joke?

THIS CHAPTER.

No, seriously. I said to a few people that this chapter would be up by the end of January. Then when that didn't happen, I thought maybe I could get it up in time for Valentine's Day. Then when that failed too, I figured that from a certain point of view, February IS at the end of January, since it's the next month. So here we are. Late, by many years. Let me explain.

Way back when the last chapter was posted, I actually got a pretty rough reception on it. I had other fics going on at the time, which many of my readers wanted and saw this fic as a distraction to me writing the things they wanted. So the reception was cold, and then basically non-existent, on a chapter that I was certain would be received well. It was a little bit disheartening, so I put this fic to the side with the promise of returning to it one day when my other fics are done.

Then something weird happened.

A few months ago, interest in this story here took off, for reasons I can't understand, but it did. I was getting three or four messages a day for weeks from people who loved it and wanted more. Again, I don't understand why, but there it is. And I just can't say no to that shit, when all of you guys went out of your way to light this fire again. I sincerely thank you guys for that. This fic was never abandoned, but it was on an indefinite hiatus, which killed me because this was a passion project for me. You guys brought it back, and for that, I thank you.

This is for you guys. Enjoy.

Chapter 17: New Dawn

The Gauntlet starfighter screamed overhead as it flew just above the walls of the fortress, its cannons blazing red bolts of plasma rounds as it peppered the ground of the open complex, Cadera soldiers diving for cover as the earth exploded around them. Few ships got past the fortress' defenses, the large ion cannons and mounted turrets firing at a rapid enough rate to shoot down nearly every ship that drew too close to the walls, but not all of them. Particularly skilled pilots that spun and wove through the hailfire and the odd pilot gifted with a rare stroke of luck managed to slip through the defenses to cause havoc to the Mandalorians on the ground that fought to repel the invading force.

Bodies littered the ground, Mandalorians in a spectrum of painted armor lay broken and bloodied, their bodies shot through with holes in charred skin that still smouldered with heat from blaster fire or bearing long, bloody gashes from the vibroblade glaives that Clan Cadera favored. In the courtyard that served as their battleground, with the burning, twisted wreckage of ships that had been shot out of the sky laying in mangled heaps scattered about the bloody ground, the warriors of Clan Cadera and the Death Watch both scattering for cover as the Gauntlet made a sharp turn above them to loop around for another attack volley. All but one man, standing alone in the center of the courtyard among the bodies and flames, his green lightsaber clutched in both hands and held poised and ready behind his shoulder.

Qui-Gon Jinn kept his eyes on the Gauntlet as it made a sharp turn over the courtyard, his feet sinking deeper into the muddy ground as he bent his knees and braced himself for the next attack. He felt the Force thrumming strong in his veins, the Jedi standing focused in the calm center of the raging storm around him, one with the soldiers in cover all around him, with the embers on the wind, with the vibrations in the ground from the screeching engines overhead, with everything in the moment. Eyes fixed on the incoming fighter, Qui-Gon's lightsaber spun effortlessly around him as he causally deflected shots fired at him from the Death Watch warriors and bounty hunters in cover, the blade weaving a shield of green light around him as he focused on the true threat in the starfighter.

The Gauntlet opened fire, a hail of green plasma bolts raining down around him, the Jedi deftly stepping out of the way and deflecting the shots that could not be easily avoided, the ground beside his feet erupting in a shower of soil as plasma struck it. Just before the ship was about to screech past overhead to circle around yet again, Qui-Gon grabbed hold of the Force, felt the power surging within him as it collected deep in his gut, and extending his hand outward, he unleashed a blast of power that went driving hard into the ship, causing it to careen off it's straight-lined attack vector.

Deep in focus, the Jedi batted another blaster shot away from him, carefully aiming the deflection to hit the ship as it swiftly corrected its wobbling trajectory, the plasma bolt cutting through the air and striking the dorsal engines as the Gauntlet turned to right itself. Immediately the engine exploded in a blossom of smoke and flames, taking the wing with it and sending the ship spinning out of control as the pilot desperately wrangled with the crashing ship to keep it airborne. It wasn't enough, and the flaming Gauntlet went careening against one of the fortress walls, the explosion sending tremors through the ground as the burning wreckage fell, the air lighting up with blaster fire as soon as the threat of the starfighter had been eliminated. His lightsaber spinning rapidly to deflect the sudden hail of plasma around him, Qui-Gon sprinted toward the Cadera soldiers, a single thought muttered under his breath.

"I'm getting too old for this shit..."

Covered by the Cadera soldiers, the Jedi dove behind the rubble of a broken wall, his breathing heavy and laborious as he wiped sweat off his brow, the warriors around him clasping his shoulder and excitedly chattering in Mando'a for a moment before returning their attentions to shooting at their enemy. A few swift, short commands from the warrior in charge and the soldiers rushed from behind cover to sprint across the courtyard to engage their enemy, ducking behind what they could on their way there and returning fire as the Death Watch and their bounty hunters shot at them. Peering up over the broken wall, Qui-Gon surveyed the battlefield and watched as a volley of fire pinned down the advancing Caldera warriors.

Swiftly identifying the source of the rapid fire, the Jedi reached out with the Force to lift the mangled wreckage of a crashed ship, exposing the Death Watch soldiers shooting from behind it, and before they had a chance to scatter, Qui-Gon slammed the twisted metal down upon them, crushing a few underneath it and sending the others diving out of the way. He lifted it up once again when the Cadera warriors vaulted over their cover to press forward and rapidly gunned down the Death Watch as they attempted to retreat for new cover. With the Caderas swiftly securing the courtyard, the Death Watch's bounty hunter allies scattered, saving themselves and leaving the Mandalorians to their fates, and with a heavy sigh, Qui-Gon sat upon the ground, eying the Cadera commander as he sat beside him and removed his black and white helmet.

"Is this what you Jedi do?" Novin Cadera asked, his face flushed, his blond hair matted with sweat and a wide grin across his face. "You just...tear ships out of the sky? See the odds against you and just do stuff to shift them in your favor?"

"Something like that..." Qui-Gon muttered, peering over the wall once again at the sound of igniting jetpacks and groaned at the sight of blue and black armored Mandalorians flying over the courtyard walls. More Death Watch sent to support the soldiers in the courtyard in their push for the fortified tower they believed the Duchess to be safeguarded within. It was a good sign. It meant that the bounty hunters hadn't reported sight of the Duchess and his Padawan outside the walls of the fortress.

"Aw, shit..." Novin muttered as he slammed his helmet back on his head and drew his blasters from the holsters on his legs, the man rising up to his knee to look over the cover across the courtyard where the Cadera soldiers quickly fortified their positions. "Those bastards don't know when to quit..."

"Killing the Duchess is paramount to them maintaining control in Sundari, yes?" Qui-Gon asked, not moving from his place against the wall as he continued to take deep, even breaths, reaching out to the ebb and flow of the Force for guidance. "Given they have confirmed her to be here, you must have expected the maximum effort to kill her."

"I suppose so..." Novin mused, looking up at the tower they defended and watching as the cannons that defended it opened fire upon the commandos in the air, making the others instantly drop down upon the inner walls where he knew his sister laid in wait with her troops, confirmed a moment later when the sky lit up with the flash of green blaster fire and the ring of their vibrolances striking off armor. "Push hard enough and Death Watch won't have anyone left to fight there war."

"That should please you."

"It does," Novin said firmly, standing and motioning for his troops to hold their positions when his father barked into his helmet's comm that additional enemy ground troops were heading in their direction. "But I haven't seen any of their major allies. No Ordos, no Wrens. No Saxons. Their full might isn't here, which means the clans are fighting their own battles elsewhere."

"At the very least, it may be some time before your fortress is attacked again," Qui-Gon said, flashing the young man a tired smile before he rose to his feet and ignited his lightsaber at the feel of the swarm approaching.

"We can only hope," Novin said, standing beside the Jedi, his own blasters aimed at the courtyard's only entrance, since his sister covered the skies above them. "Alright, Master Jedi, what's the plan?"

"Plan?" Qui-Gon asked with a chuckle. "I'm afraid there isn't one."

"...no plan?" Novin squeaked, and the Jedi shook his head.

"I'm afraid not. I've no talent for strategy, my Padawan is usually the one making the plans. I simply trust the Force to guide me."

"Trust the Force to..." Novin groaned, his head bowing as he mournfully shook it. "How is it that my people ever lost to yours?"

"One of the galaxy's greatest mysteries, I'm sure."

"You know, only fools leave a battle to luck."

"There is no such thing as luck," Qui-Gon said softly, a slight smirk curling the edge of his lips as his knees bent, his muscles relaxing with the feel of the Force rushing through him. "Though if it is any consolation, Obi-Wan shares your frustrations with my lack of planning. Impulsive, he calls it."

"I knew I liked him..." Novin raised his blaster, his sister on the forward walls doing the same, as did three others on the surrounding walls of the courtyard, a trap quietly put into place during the course of the battle as the Caderas secured their fortress and their enemy became more and more desperate. "Well, you crazy bastard, I hope we both live to see each other on the other end of this fight."

"As do I," Qui-Gon said, exhaling slowly as his blade spun deftly in his hand, his eyes on the courtyard's entryway as the warriors upon the walls opened fire. "May the Force be with you."

"Ib'tuur jatne tuur ash'ad kyr'amur," Novin replied, shaking his head as the Jedi vaulted over the wall and sprinted toward the soldiers that ran into the courtyard and immediately opened fire upon the robed warrior. "Kriffing Force madness..."

Qui-Gon didn't wait for the Death Watch soldiers to come to him, the Jedi reaching out through the Force toward the warriors running into the courtyard pulled them off their feet, the airborne soldiers made easy targets for the Caderas on the walls. Deflecting the blaster fire away from him as it filled the air, Qui-Gon rushed to meet the enemy as they pushed into the courtyard, the Caderas behind cover around him and the warriors on the wall providing him the support he needed as he drew attention toward him, his saber a beaconing call for the enemy that desperately sought the girl he defended.

The green blade effortlessly sliced through armor and muscle and bone as the soldiers fell upon him, distant enemies falling when their fired shots were deflected back at them, and as their comrades began dying, the warriors fell back, tucking into cover to regroup. It only took a moment before the Death Watch scattered, some activating jetpacks to get up upon the walls to fight the Caderas shooting down at them, some rushing across the courtyard in small groups to get better shots at the warriors firing at them from behind wrecked ships and broken walls, and three of them, their blue and black armor styled distinctively different from the other soldiers, rushed forward with blasters drawn and vambraces activated, elite soldiers sent specifically to deal with the Jedi.

The three commanders quickly scattered, splitting apart as they surrounded Qui-Gon, forcing him to deal with one at a time instead of the group as a whole, and with his saber rapidly spinning to deflect both stray fire and the bolts aimed right at him, he reached out through the Force and slammed it against one of the warriors, throwing him backwards and giving the Jedi to turn and focus on the other two. The window of opportunity swiftly closed, faster than Qui-Gon could react when a powerful pulse from the vambraces slammed into him, a mimicry of the Force push he had just used on their comrade, and the Jedi was pushed backwards, feet rooted firmly to the ground as he maintained his balance, leaving deep furrows of upturned earth and ash.

They opened fire before Qui-Gon even stopped skidding across the ground, his lightsaber rapidly spinning to deflect the quickly fired shots, and too late, he felt the warning in the Force, heard the high whine of a firing blaster rifle, and spun too slow to deflect a shot from the man he had thrown before who had recovered too quickly, the red bolt striking him high upon his left shoulder. Pain spread swiftly across his chest, and in the next moment, he felt his right leg buckle, a shot from behind him striking him on his hip, and the Jedi dropped to a knee, a gasp of pain falling from his lips as he clutched his saber tighter and batted away the rapid, aggressive fire, savage hunters closing in for the kill on their wounded prey.

Extending his hand and wincing from the movement when pain erupted anew across his wounded shoulder, Qui-Gon slammed the Force against the assailant in front of him, the man knocked hard into a wall behind him, and clenching his fists, the Jedi grasped hold of a piece of the smouldering wreckage of the crashed starfighter and threw it at the other two Death Watch commanders behind him. With a sharp shout of warning, the two warriors dove in opposite directions to avoid the projectile, one of them rolling right into Qui-Gon's line of sight, and as he rose to his feet, he was faced with a rapidly spinning green lightsaber as it sliced through the air, thrown by the wounded Jedi.

The lightsaber rapidly careened toward the Death Watch commander, its trajectory uneven and unpredictable, and lacking the time to dodge out of the way, he dropped to the ground in an effort to duck beneath it. The edge of the spinning blade caught him on the way down, its uneven tilt not leaving a clean cut, but a jagged tear through the commander's neck, failing to completely sever his head from his shoulders, but leaving him quickly dying upon the ground regardless.

Extending his hand to call his thrown saber back to him, Qui-Gon hissed in frustration when a yellow energized grappling line wrapped tightly around his arm and pulled hard, yanking the Jedi off balance and making the lightsaber drop uselessly to the ground, the Force hold released by the break of focus. Out of the corner of his eye, Qui-Gon could see the commander he had thrown back on his feet and rushing toward him, his rifle cradled against his shoulder as he took aim. Swiftly looking back at the warrior that had bound his arm, the Jedi dug his heels into the trampled ground, the bulk of his weight braced on his uninjured leg, and yanked hard on the line, pulling the soldier temporarily off balance.

Just before the Death Watch commander's foot landed on the ground to steady himself, Qui-Gon pulled once again, this time with his strength aided by the Force, and the warrior was pulled off his feet just as two sharp whistles of high impact shots rang through the air. With a furious curse, the other commander recoiled, pulling the barrel of his rifle away from the Jedi he had shot at, but it was two late. Both shots meant for the Jedi struck the soldier's comrade, his body intercepting the bolts as he was pulled in front of Qui-Gon, the impact making the body fall with a heavy thud to the ground.

With the slack in the grappling line, it quickly unraveled from Qui-Gon's arm, and extended his hand, he once again called his lightsaber to him, the green blade igniting with a snapping hiss just in time to block the rapid fire from the furious lone commander, his two comrades laying dead around them. Flexing the fingers of his wounded arm and dull to the pain as he centered himself in the Force. The Jedi reached out, felt the Force coil around his opponent, and pulled back hard, jerking the Mandalorian so hard that the warrior dropped his weapon as he was yanked off his feet, pulled through the air by the Force. He stopped only when the glowing green blade of the lightsaber pierced through his visor and out through the back of his helmet, his body falling immediately limp as his head was impaled.

Switching the saber off and watching as the body dropped into a heap on the ground, Qui-Gon took a moment to catch his breath, his breathing heavy and labored as he shifted his weight to favor his unwounded leg when sharp throbbing pain began to creep through his body from the two wounds he sustained, felt more keenly now that the urgency of the Force had left him. He looked up to the skies above and found them stained red with the dawn and filled with Gauntlet starfighters painted the pitch black and white of Clan Cadera, a welcome sight after the chaos that had raged for so long.

With a Cadera victory at hand, the mercenary forces the Death Watch brought broke, patchwork soldiers and unique custom ships fleeing the scene of the battle, the credits they were promised useless to them if they were dead, leaving the furious Death Watch, too proud to retreat, behind to be slaughtered. A veritable rainbow of armor swarmed the walls and courtyards of the fortress and took to the skies with jetpacks, hundreds of warriors from dozens of clans all in fighting for the Duchess and her new way for Mandalore, and for the first time since they arrived in the Mandalore sector so many months ago, Qui-Gon saw that this war could indeed be won.

"Master Jedi!" Qui-Gon looked up from where he stood, watching as a Cadera soldier dropped down off one of the high fortress walls, and quickly strode toward him, sliding a blaster into a leg holster. Qui-Gon breathed a sigh of relief, his hand relaxing upon his lightsaber when the Cadera removed the black and white helmet and shook out long, blond hair and flashed him a sultry smile. Ressa Cadera, a beautiful, welcome sight to see in the aftermath of a battle that had left the ground strewn with the dead.

"It pleases me to see you alive," Qui-Gon said as he walked to meet her, and a disgusted sneer broke across her lips as she waved dismissively.

"Oh, please..." she said with a roll of her eyes. "It'll take something greater to kill me than Death Watch scum and mercenary amateurs." Her eyes flicked upwards, looking at the towering central spire of the Cadera fortress behind the Jedi, her confidence and certainty trembling with the slightest quiver of her lip, the first crack in the brash warrior's hardened exterior that Qui-Gon had seen. It was gone by the time she looked back at the Jedi, her cocky smirk returning, though perhaps a touch shyer than it had been before. "I'm surprised that you survived, old man," the Mandalorian teased. "I half expected to find you and your nightgown shot full of holes. Although..." she drawled, pointing at the singed holes at the Jedi's hip and shoulder. "I suppose I wasn't too far off..."

"It would seem as if both of us live to fight another day," Qui-Gon said quietly, and again, Ressa scoffed dismissively.

"Don't be so certain, Jedi," she muttered, pointing at the fortress at Qui-Gon's back, and he turned to look at the tower, a swarm of ships and warriors with jetpacks flying around it and Mandalorians running the walls, the sky flashing with blasterfire as they chased down and killed the remnants of the invading Death Watch and bounty hunters. "While we were battling the Death Watch in the courtyards, mercenary filth broke into the tower where we were holding Satine. My father's up there now."

"It was fortuitous, then, that you helped Satine and Obi-Wan escape the fortress," Qui-Gon said, looking up at the tower and his brow drawing together in confusion when he turned back to the sullen girl. "Certainly your father will be relieved to hear that she wasn't captured or murdered by bounty hunters, as I'm certain he suspects."

"Of course he will be," Ressa said almost dismissively, a nervous chuckle falling from her lips as she ran her fingers through her long, blond hair. "But when he finds out that we allowed her to leave the fortress while we were under attack by people committed to killing her with only a teenage boy in a bathrobe to protect her..." Ressa whistled and flashed the Jedi a nervous smile. "He's going to murder the both of us."

It was exactly as bad as Ressa had predicted.

Before they even reached the tower, Gauntlet starfighters screamed overhead, patrols of three and four flying far too close to the ground and making no showing of taking off toward space, instead keeping a low and winding path as they flew out toward the jungles and beaches of tropical Vorpa'ya. Search patrols, Ressa had stiffly told the Jedi, the young woman growing more and more nervous as they drew closer to the Duchess' fortified quarters, the brash and bold confidence she carried herself with as a warrior crumbling and betraying how young she truly was, only a few years older than his own Padawan at most.

When the turbolift opened up into the hallway of their destination, they were met with a large group of Mandalorians, the leaders of the different clans that Qui-Gon recognized from their meetings over the past few days, and their personal guard, warriors fully armored and ready to rush wherever they were directed at a moment's notice. Beside him, Ressa drew up taller, the nervous girl vanishing behind the armor she wore as she stepped out into the hallway, the other Mandalorians quickly parting the way for the young Cadera and their Duchess' Jedi protector. They didn't need to go far before Qui-Gon could see light from outside pouring in from a hole torn into the side of the tower and the door to Satine's room, a thick, heavy piece of fortified durasteel, reduced to a warped, smelted pile upon the ground.

"Acid," Qui-Gon muttered as he lightly ran his fingers over the melted, corroded metal of the remains of the door, and he looked at the woman by his side, the eldest Cadera child studiously looking where he was pointing to avoid making eye contact with her furiously pacing father inside the room. "It would seem as if your enemy came prepared to break into a vault."

"Murderers and thieves..." Ressa hissed, cursing quietly in Mando'a as she looked at the damage. "This isn't the toolkit of a mercenary, these are the tools of criminals preparing for a heist. There is no honor in this."

Before Qui-Gon had a chance to point out that there was little honor in accepting credits for lives to begin with, no matter the method used, Novin Cadera walked out of the room and away from his father to stand beside the Jedi and his sister, the young man looking every bit as worried as Qui-Gon knew his sister felt.

"Well?" Ressa whispered, leaning secretively in toward her brother. "What does father know?"

"Nothing." Novin quietly snapped. "I didn't say anything, we promised we wouldn't."

"That doesn't mean you wouldn't say something."

"That's exactly what it means!" Novin snarled, wincing when he realized how loudly he spoke and not daring to look behind him to see if his father was looking, though from the way Ressa's face paled, he was certain that he was. "It would be pointless to say anything anyway. We don't even know if the Duchess is alive."

"She is," Qui-Gon said without a moment's hesitation and despite how calmly confident he was, Novin looked skeptically at him.

"How can you possibly know that?" Novin asked, and the Jedi almost indifferently shrugged.

"Because my student is still alive, and he'd die before he allowed anything to happen to your Duchess. Mark my word. Obi-Wan is alive, so Satine is safe."

"You can't know that either," Novin hissed, his shoulders tightening as he looked back at his pacing, furious father, the teenager's lip quivering with the weight of guilt of having possibly been responsible for their Duchess' death. "You've been here fighting with us, and we-" He stopped, choking on a sudden lump in his throat and swallowing hard to clear it. "We let her out," Novin said in a thin, thready whisper, his throat dry and tight as he forced his way past emotion he struggled not to feel. "People came to kill her, and we led her out to the slaughter. She might be dead, Jedi. Your student and our Duchess might be dead, and it's our fault."

"You feel guilty for what might be," Qui-Gon said as he laid his hand upon the teenager's shoulder. "I understand. But had you and your sister not taken Satine from this place, she would have certainly been dead." He looked down at the melted doorway before them, the two Cadera children following his gaze. "Your instincts were good," the Jedi said, flashing Novin and Ressa a small, comforting smile. "You were right to follow them. An uncertain fate is better than a certain end."

"Have faith in our Duchess, brother," Ressa said quietly, Novin's distress bringing back the girl's confidence. "They have survived a month on Zanbar while Death Watch relentlessly hunted them. They will survive this as well. The Jedi believes them to be alive, and we must as well."

"I know them to be alive," Qui-Gon said quietly. "The bond between a Jedi Master and Padawan is a powerful thing. Were Obi-Wan killed, I would have felt the connection between us break. I have felt no such thing, and as I said, my student would first die before harm could come to your Duchess."

"...this is a Force thing, then?" Novin asked with a disdainful roll of his eyes.

"It is," Qui-God said, folding his hands into the sleeves of his robe and stepping over the hardened, melted pile that was once the door. "And it is news I'm certain your father will be eager to hear. We better tell him."

"Y-yeah..." Ressa stammered, drawing up to her full height and patting Novin on the back. "Come on, brother. Mandalorians don't run from battle."

"I'd honestly rather face the Death Watch again..." Novin grumbled as he slid his helmet back on his head and followed Ressa and Qui-Gon into the room to meet with the fearsome Torian Cadera.

The room inside had been torn to pieces, shelving and dressers ripped from the walls and laying in scattered splintered heaps across the room, the walls bearing slashes from Cadera favored vibroblade glaives and the dark stains of carbon scoring from blaster fire. The carpeting was stained with blood, red and green and vibrant purple that was already drying, evidence of the beings slain that had long since been dragged out with the other dead. Out on the open balcony, previously shielded with heavy barriers and thick durrasteel, was Torian Cadera, the man pacing back and forth as he surveyed the courtyards far below, now swarmed with Mandalorians putting the fortress back together after the assault and stripping the dead of their weapons and armor before they were thrown into large, burning pyres.

He didn't notice his children nor the Jedi encroaching upon his solitude, his gaze flicking up into the sky as another pair of Gauntlet starfighters rose from the landing field and shot out toward the jungles to the east. With a heavy sigh, he braced his hands on the railing and muttered something unintelligible under his breath, staring off into nothing for a moment before he went to resume his pacing and found himself looking at Qui-Gon Jinn, the sight of the Jedi making the man's shoulders seem to sag with weariness.

"I trust my children have briefed you of our current situation..." Torian said as he gestured toward his two children standing in the doorway, neither of them bold enough to step out onto the balcony where their father stood. "Shae is leading the search parties in looking for the Duchess. Death Watch is paying double if she's captured alive, and we're hoping the mercenaries that attacked think the effort's worth it..." He sighed heavily, his eyes closing as he ran a hand through his hair. "We have to hope..."

"The Duchess is alive, Lord Cadera," Qui-Gon said gently, and the Mandalorian gave the Jedi a small, weak smile.

"I need to believe that," Torian said quietly as he gestured toward the Jedi. "Your student. Did he make it?"

"He did," Qui-Gon said as he took a step closer to the distressed Mandalorian. "Listen, I didn't say Satine was alive to give you hope, Lord Cadera, she-"

"If she is alive, we'll find her, Master Jedi," Torian snapped, the guilt and hopelessness that sat heavy on his shoulders burning away with swift and sudden rage, his eyes narrowing as he looked back out at the starfighters searching the area for their wayward Duchess. "We'll find the scum that took her from here and-"

"She wasn't taken from here!" Qui-Gon said swiftly, his voice strained with irritation, and Torian swiftly fell silent. "So help me, there isn't anyone in this whole galaxy who listens so poorly as the Mandalorians..." Closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, Qui-Gon took a moment to calm his breathing, satisfied that the silence had remained instead of the swift and angry retort he had been expecting. "Satine and my student," he began again, "weren't even here during the attack."

"...excuse me?"

"Ressa and Novin had the foresight to recognize that even as well defended as this tower is, a sitting target is an easy target." Qui-Gon gestured back to the two Cadera children, suddenly shifting nervously under the intensity of their father's angry glare. "They led Satine and Obi-Wan out of the fortress just after we were attacked."

For a long moment, there was silence, uncomfortable and tense and angry, Novin hiding behind his helmet and Ressa smiling sheepishly at her father as Torian's face grew redder by the second as his fury grew. Qui-Gon only stood, calm and silent and serene despite the red hot wrath that ripped through the Force.

"Father," Ressa squeaked, holding her hands up in a gesture of surrender. "It was a ba'slan shev'la."

"You're trying to tell me," Torian growled, low and menacing as he took a step toward his children, "that you took the one hope for Mandalore out of our protection, and you have the gall to call it a strategic disappearance?!"

"Father, look around you!" Ressa snapped with a roll of her eyes, gesturing back into the wreckage of the room. "This tower isn't exactly all that well defended, now is it?!"

"You watch your mouth, girl, or I'm going to make you wish those Death Watch thugs had given you an honorable death in combat!" Torian snarled as he strode toward his children, and Ressa impressively held her ground, hands on her hips and chest swelled with defiance.

"Novin and I gave the Duchess a chance!" Ressa shot back.

"A chance to be easily captured or killed, away from the people that defend her!"

"She has a Jedi with her, Father!" Novin chimed in, emboldened by his sister's defiance. "I sparred with Obi-Wan for a long time, there isn't a thing that Jedi can't do!"

"Put away your pride, Father," Ressa sneered. "We can't protect Satine. If she had stayed here, than she would have died under your protection. But out in the wilderness with her cute little Jedi?" She scoffed and dismissively waved her hand. "A thousand Death Watch scum and all their mercenaries don't stand a chance with him protecting her. She's safe."

"You can't know that!" Torian snapped, and Qui-Gon rolled his eyes, unwilling to have this very same conversation for the second time that hour, and stepped between the Cadera leader and his children.

"But I do," Qui-Gon said calmly, closing his eyes and reaching out to his student through the Force. "I can feel Obi-Wan, he's-"

The response to his tug upon their bond was an almost violent shove back, so hard that Qui-Gon could feel the force of it hitting his chest in what amounted to the Jedi equivalent of a petulant teen slamming a door shut. He looked up to find all three Caderas staring at him, concerned looks upon their faces at having seen the surprise and bewilderment on the otherwise calm Jedi Master's face. He pushed away the shock and flashed the Mandalorians a small, soothing smile.

"They're alive," he calmly assured them. "There's nothing to fear. When Obi-Wan feels it's safe, he and the Duchess will return to the fortress."

"And if he doesn't feel safe?" Torian asked. "What then?"

"I can find him," Qui-Gon said quietly. "Our connection allows me to sense his location. Be at ease, Lord Cadera. Satine will be back under your protection today."

The assurance seemed to work, the Mandalorian giving a terse nod before he strode from the room, issuing commands to the warriors in the hallway and coming Shae to tell her to bring the search parties back to the fortress for a more focused search with the aid of the Jedi. Once again reaching out for his Padawan, Qui-Gon found Obi-Wan alive and resolutely closed off to him, his thoughts and emotions tightly guarded and entirely unreadable. Were he in any sort of danger at all, fear and stress would be lighting up the connection, unable to be truly contained in the heat of battle, and were Satine harmed or killed, Qui-Gon was certain the grief of his Padawan would have been unmistakable and impossible to conceal. They were both safe, of that he was certain.

Even through the relief of knowing the teenagers were alive and well, Qui-Gon couldn't help the knot of apprehension tightening his gut when he thought about what that little shit Obi-Wan Kenobi was getting himself into.

There was peace.

Without the rise and fall of the sun, the passage of time became meaningless, an unimportant concept that distracted from the beauty of existing purely in the present. There, safely enveloped within a cave that was lit by the faint glow of bioluminescent plant life and algae like bright stars splattered across the night sky, Obi-Wan, for the first time, truly understood his Master's adherence to the Living Force. What he had always seen as random and impulsive, tied to the fleeting whims and constant changes of the Force from moment to moment, he now saw as pure and beautiful and liberating, true peace wrung from the beauty of simply being.

Here, in this very moment, there was no war, no worries about the future, no concerns about what would inevitably come to be, no regret over things that had been done, no remorse over the things that hadn't. There was just now, peace and serenity in a cave among subterranean floral stars, warmed by natural hot springs in deep pools that glowed brilliant light blue with reflected light, the only sound the pleasing trickle of moving water as it lapped against his skin and soft, shaking breaths as-

A soft, sharp gasp breathed hot in his ear as the woman in his lap collapsed against him, her arms wrapping tightly around his shoulders and her whole body tense and trembling, and his own hands moved from her hips and up her bare back to hold her as close to him as he was able.

"Ah, Obi!" Satine moaned as she sunk her hips down upon the Jedi's length, another sharp cry drawn from her at how deep her lover was inside her, and she involuntarily tightened around him, wringing an almost desperate groan out of Obi-Wan.

Since that first time together, they had been intimate several times, had been unrestrained in their exploration of each other since they had finally come together after so long of wanting and longing. Moments of rest led to languid touching, which inevitably stoked their desire and before long found themselves in each other's arms again, slowly beginning to try new things as they became more comfortable with each other's bodies and more bold in their passions. Peace and safety were hard enough to find as it was, and time alone without the threat of being discovered together was such a rarity, and would continue to be in the days to come, that now that they had it, they had every intention of taking full advantage of their valuable time.

This time saw them together in the hot spring, the Duchess straddling the Jedi and her hands upon his shoulders as she controlled the speed and depth that she took the enraptured boy, leaving Obi-Wan to grasp her hips or stroke her back or otherwise have no idea what to do with his hands. More than once, in the times between, he told himself that this was driven by Satine, that insatiable Mandalorian passion drove her again and again to sweep him away with her, that she started it, and he wasn't strong enough to resist. It wasn't true, of course. He knew very well that for as many time that Satine very deliberately stoked arousal to burn deep in his gut, he just as often had laid her down and allowed wandering fingers and lips and tongue to leave her squirming with need.

He wasn't ashamed of what they had done, but reflex drove him to tightly cling to the tatters of his broken Code.

He held her close as he rocked up into her as she tightly clenched around him, her head buried against the crook of his neck as she moaned and shook with orgasm, her fingernails raking across his back as she feverishly kissed at the flushed skin of his neck. She had been riding him before, torturously slow at first and gradually faster and harder as she lost hold of her control, but now, boneless with her own climax, Obi-Wan was left to seek his own pleasure in the bliss of her body. It wouldn't be long, the tight coil low in his stomach becoming tighter and hotter each time she tightened and clenched around him, each time her lips pressed against his chest or the line of his jaw, each time she moaned so sweetly in his ear, each moment in her arms pulling him closer and closer to the euphoric bliss she inspired in him...

A swift tug upon the Force ripped him out of the moment, the bond between him and his Master lighting up in his mind, and the Padawan's pace faltered, his grip on the Duchess tightening as pleasure and contentment was swept away by the sudden snap of fear and guilt and embarrassment and shame at the prospect of being caught.

Obi-Wan threw Qui-Gon from his mind in a reflexive panic, their connection slammed closed as the Padawan hid behind his mental walls.

A hand laying over his rapidly beating heart and a gentle touch to his cheek brought him back to the moment, and he found himself looking into concerned, light blue eyes, the shift in her lover quickly and easily noticed by the perceptive Duchess.

"Stay with me, Obi," Satine said softly, her thumb running over Obi-Wan's cheek bone as she once again began rolling her hips, pulling an almost tortured groan out of the Jedi as he bucked up to meet her, a delighted gasp falling from her full, red lips as she slid her hands into his hair and wound her fingers around his braid. "Stay with me..." she muttered again as she pressed her lips against Obi-Wan's, and it was so very, very easy to push aside everything in his mind that wasn't her, now, in this very moment. There would be time later to worry about his Master, his mission, his broken Code, the fear of being caught and the shame he knew he would later face when he meditated on the betrayal of his vows to the Jedi Order.

He knew his eyes would once again turned to the bigger picture dictated by the Cosmic Force, as it always did, and with it would bring the dreadful knowledge that this would all come to an end when their mission was complete and Mandalore was safe, and he and Satine would have to part ways to walk the paths laid out for them. But for now, he would follow the Living Force and live only in the moment, only with her.

Obi-Wan's entire being filled only with her, the two as close as two beings could be, so close that within the Force, the beautiful, vibrant colors of her presence swirled together so tightly with his own that he couldn't see where she ended and he began. With her wrapped so tightly around him, with her gasping between the kisses they shared, with him so eagerly bucking up into smooth, tight heat, it didn't take long for Obi-Wan to come undone, the Duchess' grip upon his braid pulling him down to her waiting lips as he tensed and trembled with his own climax. Satisfied moans fell from his lips as he held her against him, his grip loosening as his body relaxed with the blissful aftermath of their passions, his hands slowly working their way into Satine's hair when she laid her head upon his chest, and with a satisfied smile, closed her eyes as she listened to her Jedi protector's strong, pounding heart.

Obi-Wan was dragged out of the present again, slower this time, when he felt the insistent press of his Master against his mental walls, concern and frustration in each scrape against his consciousness as Qui-Gon failed to grasp hold of the tether of their bond through the closed connection. He sighed, looking down at the resting woman in his arms, and knew that they had been there too long, that their time here was at an end.

They had to return to their duties.

"Satine..." Obi-Wan whispered, pressing his lips to the Duchess' cheek and gently running his hands over the gentle curves of her back. "I feel my Master calling to me. We need to go."

"No," Satine said swiftly, wrapping her arms around the Padawan's neck and clinging tightly to him. "No..." she whispered again. "I don't want to go..."

"We have to, Satine..." Obi-Wan said with a sigh, his hand sliding up her back to stroke at her hair. "We need to return to our mission. Mandalore needs you."

"...I know." She sighed, her tight grasp upon Obi-Wan's neck relaxing as she sat up in his lap and braced her hands against his chest. "I wish we could stay here forever..." she muttered as she reached up to stroke his cheek and brush back his wet, disheveled hair. "Just you and me, together, just like this. No more running, no more war..." A small smile touched her lips as she leaned in and kissed him, slow and gentle and sweet. "Just us."

"It's a nice thought..." Obi-Wan whispered, unable to tear his eyes away from the intensity of the passion that burned in her clear blue eyes, even as a wry smirk spread across his face. "Though...I have a hard time imagining the Duchess of Mandalore living out the rest of her days in a cave."

The peace in the glowing cave was punctuated by the hard, wet slap of a hand upon water and the delighted laughter of Obi-Wan Kenobi as he was splashed by a petulant Satine.

"You have a singular talent for killing the moment, don't you!" Satine snapped, splashing water again at the laughing Jedi as she got off the boy's lap and pulled herself out of the hot spring and padded over to where their clothes lay discarded in a messy heap. Glaring over her shoulder as she swiftly slipped into her undergarments, she found Obi-Wan staring at her, his head resting upon his crossed arms, and she quickly turned away when she couldn't stop the smile that spread across her lips.

"I'd rather deal with the Death Watch than you, you soulless, awful Jedi," Satine said in a slow, teasing lit as she stepped into her pants and snatched her shirt from off the ground. "Being constantly hunted is far more tolerable than your company."

"I'm glad to hear it. There's a great many Death Watch and only one of me, so the odds of you having a great time are rather high," Obi-Wan drawled, and Satine couldn't help but roll her eyes when she heard the splashing of water and the soft sound of the Jedi's footsteps as he approached and the drip drip of water that fell to the ground off his body. Before she reeled around to throw her retort back at the Jedi, she was pulled against his bare, wet body, his strong arms wrapping around her and his lips pressing to her neck. She couldn't help the reflexive tightening of heat in her stomach at the feel of her handsome Jedi pressed against her back, and with a shudder, her shirt fell out of her trembling hands and back to the ground.

"No more running, no more war..." Obi-Wan whispered in her ear, pulling her closer to him as he breathed in the sweet scent of her hair. "You'll have it, Satine, I swear it. But not here. This war cannot end without you, and I will fight to see you have the peace you deserve." He relaxed his grasp on her, and with a hand upon her shoulder, turned her around, a soft smile on his lips as he brushed stray strands of her hair behind her ear. "But it would be nice, wouldn't it? If ending the war were as simple as staying here."

"I fear my people would destroy themselves," Satine said, a touch of sadness and regret in her voice, her fingers trailing gently over the tender, healing gash in the Jedi's ribs. "All of Mandalore would burn around us while we avoided our duty."

"Mm, who's ruining the mood now, hm?"

"The mood was already ruined, and that was your fault," Satine said pointedly, her eyebrow arching as she looked up at the grinning Jedi, her hand carefully laying over the wound in his side. "You don't get to pretend you fixed it just because you're being sweet," she said softly, the wry smirk on her lips a clear indication that she didn't mean it, and she could feel the Jedi's heart flutter beneath her fingertips.

"How lucky I am to have you to ground me," Satine whispered, pressing closer against the Jedi and reveling in how swiftly he seemed to fall apart beneath her hands, so very unlike the expressionless, guarded boy she had met on Sundari so very long ago. "It would have been so easy for me to be swept away and content to forget my duty."

"You don't believe that," Obi-Wan muttered, a shy smile on his face as he averted his eyes and bent down to pick up their discarded clothing, and even in the glow of the cave, Satine could see the blush that covered his cheeks as he handed her shirt back to her. "Mandalore means too much to you. No matter what you wish could be, you'd always return to your people."

"Just like you'd always return to your mission."

Again, that shy, modest smile tugged at the edge of Obi-Wan's lips, and again he averted his eyes as he took a step away from the Duchess, his fingers gently lingering upon the crook of her neck.

"You are my mission," the Jedi whispered, the next step he took away from her finally bringing him out of her reach, and for a long moment, she just stood, watching as the Jedi began to dress himself, her beating heart sending tingling, pleasant warmth through her chest as she realized what that meant to him. For all the times they found themselves in each other's arms, for all the times she lay with her gentle Jedi deep inside her, neither of them could bring themselves to say they loved each other, not in Basic nor in Mando'a.

They found ways around it, indirect words and phrases that suggested and implied without actually saying it, though they both knew. But fear kept them from saying it, Obi-Wan's broken Code, the Mandalorian traditional taboo against the Jedi, and the future where they both knew their separate duties would see them forever parted keeping them from vocalizing their feelings, as if allowing it to remain unsaid would make their fears untrue. As if never saying it would make their parting easier.

You are my mission.

Satine couldn't help the bright smile that crossed her face as she watched her Jedi examine his torn and bloody robes, the knot in her stomach growing tighter and warmer as the sweet, soft words flitted through her mind. It was deeper, more personal, more meaningful than any profession of love could have been, the words, "I love you," said trillions of times between trillions of lovers seeming common and unworthy of what she shared with her Jedi protector. She was his mission, and to the young, reserved, repressed and duty bound Obi-Wan, that was everything, his meaning and his duty and his purpose, all bound together in beautiful devotion.

It was all Satine ever wanted.

Quickly tugging her shirt over her head tightening her belt around her waist and securing Ressa's borrowed blaster to it, she walked up to where Obi-Wan was fiddling with the tatters of his tunics and, laying her hand upon his arm, she took them from him, gave him a small, warm smile, and began tearing the fabric into strips, to the Jedi's immediate objections.

"There isn't any salvaging these, Obi," Satine quietly interrupted, touching the soaked, bloody bandages still wrapped around his arms made from strips of the same tunic. "And wounds like yours should be kept dry to heal. These need to be changed."

"It's the only tunic I have left, Satine..." Obi-Wan grumbled, though he didn't fight her as she carefully removed the strips of cloth wrapped around his arms.

"We're in a war, Obi," Satine muttered absently as she dropped the wet cloth and frowned as she looked at the deep cuts upon the Jedi's forearms, the wounds oozing and open around white, soggy skin. "Maybe Qui-Gon can get away with it, but wearing robes to battle hasn't served you well," she said as she touched the many scars upon his torso, all injuries he had earned in her defense. "You have a set of Mandalorian armor, and if you had been wearing it, it would have protected you from all the wounds you suffered last night."

"Well, yes, but-"

"No," she said firmly, giving him a hard look as she tore a strip from his tunic and began gently wrapping it around his forearm. "No lover of mine's going into battle in nothing but his underwear. I won't have you dying for me too."

Obi-Wan made to argue, but quickly stopped himself as he watched the Duchess quietly, diligently work, her expression one of focus and diligence, though he could see the slightest tremble at the edge of her lips, the smallest twitch at the corner of her eye, could feel the Force roil with sorrow and grief deep and intense as all her emotions were. When he said nothing, her hands stilled, glancing up at him from the corner of her eye, and Obi-Wan gave her the briefest conciliatory nod, and with a wash of relief that she didn't show, but spread quickly through the Force to soothe the aching grief, she began tending to the other arm.

"I guess I don't really have a choice," Obi-Wan said quietly as he watched Satine tear the last of his robes into strips that she first wrapped around his arm before she began wrapping it around his torso to cover the gash upon his ribs. "The only other clothing I own is the armor."

"It's just as well, you stubborn man," Satine said with a smile as she finished tying the last of his bandages, brushing her fingers across his chest for the briefest moment before she stepped back to admire him, once again assuming the roles of Duchess and Jedi protector, not the lovers that they had become. "No doubt Qui-Gon is eager to have us back. Are we ready?" she asked, drawing up taller and putting on the air of nobility her station required of her, and with the slightest bow, Obi-Wan extended his hand, his lightsaber flying from his belt to his waiting grasp and igniting with a snapping hiss, brightening the blue, bioluminescent glow of the cave.

"Ready, my Duchess..." the Jedi drawled, gesturing down the dark tunnels of the cave beyond the safety of their sanctuary. "Right this way."

With a deep breath, Satine strode forward and passed the Jedi, but stopped quickly when she felt his hand upon her shoulder, a faint smile on his lips as he dragged his fingers down the length of her arm and gently took her hand, intertwining his fingers with her own. She looked up at him, her breath hitching when she saw the devotion in his eyes, and with a soft sigh, Satine leaned her head against Obi-Wan's shoulder, her hand tightening in his, and allowed him to guide her into the tunnels.

They may have been returning to reality and the war that raged across Mandalore, but they would be returning as something much more than simply the Duchess and her protector. Much, much more.

The tunnels were much colder than the cave they had spent the night in, much more closed in, the walls lit by the light of Obi-Wan's lightsaber, not by the bioluminescent vegetation which seemed to favor the hotter, more humid air of the cave walls of the hot spring. They walked mostly in silence, the two teenagers keeping close together and stopping periodically so that Obi-Wan could listen to the sounds, feel the airflow and the Force around them, and occasionally touched his lightsaber to the tunnel walls, the blade hissing as it cut into the rock to serve as a marker for where they have already been. The winding, twisting tunnels would have been eerie and frightening, with the strange sounds echoing through them and the frightening shadows cast around every bend, but the feel of Obi-Wan beside her set her mind at ease, and she remained content at his side as he guided her through the winding tunnels.

For a time.

"Do you have any idea where we're going?" Satine asked after what had felt like an infinite time of wandering in the dark, the absence of the sun warping the passage of time. "I swear I have seen that exact rock formation before."

"Well..." Obi-Wan muttered as he readjusted his grip on his lightsaber and cleared his throat. "We aren't going back the way we came, there wasn't a good way to climb up the hole we dropped through, so-"

"So we're lost," Satine interrupted.

"We aren't...no, we aren't lost," Obi-Wan said with a roll of his eyes. "I just haven't been here before, excuse me for not having an innate mental map of the cave systems of Vorpa'ya."

"Don't be sassy with me, you intolerable Jedi," Satine said, her nose turned up arrogantly in the air. "I'm not the one that's been leading us around in circles."

"We aren't going in circles," Obi-Wan said with a sigh. "I've been marking the walls, if we were somewhere we're already been, I'd know..." He looked down at the woman at his side and saw the faintest wry smirk and the teasing glint in her eye, and he felt his face burn. She was messing with him. Of course she was. "Look, we're not lost. There's water in these caves, and that water must reach the ocean eventually. I could see beaches from the Cadera fortress, so we can't be that far away."

"So...you're just hoping that these tunnels will bring us to the beach."

"Would you rather hear that I'm trusting the Force to guide me?" Obi-Wan said flatly, and without looking at her, he could feel her petulant, disapproving glare. "Then you're just going to have to take following the flow of water as your explanation, Duchess."

"Idiot Jedi."

"Faithless Mandalorian."

They both leaned in at the same time, their lips meeting halfway in a brief, chaste kiss, surprise on their faces for having thought of the same thing at the same moment, and with soft, delighted laughter, they met again, deeper this time as Satine melted against her Jedi, their intertwined fingers grasping tighter to each other.

"It's unfair..." Obi-Wan muttered as he reluctantly parted from the girl that clung to him. "The things you do to me..."

"Enough to make me forget my duty," Satine said with a sigh as she dragged her fingers across Obi-Wan's jaw, her heart leaping in her chest when she saw the shy, slight smile pulling at the Jedi's lips. He would never forget his duty, she knew, the warmth that spread through her chest making her heart rapidly pound with the knowledge that her devoted Jedi would never stray from his mission.

"Can you hear it?" Obi-Wan whispered, and Satine wrinkled her nose and frowned as she shook her head. "Close your eyes, listen," he said, and she did as she asked, a swift shiver running up her spine when she felt Obi-Wan press his lips to the back of her hand. With a hiss, the thrum of the lightsaber fell silent as it was switched off, and for a long while, Satine heard nothing, just an almost oppressive quiet of the cave punctuated occasionally by the splatter of water droplets falling into puddles upon the ground. As her ears adjusted to the silence, her hearing became keener, more in tune to the subtle sounds carrying through the tunnels, the scurrying of small creatures across the rocks and the occasional beating of wings through the air. And beneath it all, like an undercurrent flowing through the cave, was the soft ripple of a flowing stream and the gentle feel of a moving air brushing against her skin.

"I hear water..." Satine said quietly, a faint smile on her lips as she opened her eyes, pitch black at first and then once again illuminated with glowing blue light as the lightsaber was ignited. "You were right, Obi. We're on the right path."

"We're almost there," the Jedi said as he stepped forward and gently tugged upon the Duchess' arm for her to follow him. "Come on. I'm eager to get back to the fortress, I'm starting to get hungry."

"Yeah, me too," Satine said with a small laugh as she clung to the Jedi's arm, her cheek pressed against his warm, bare skin. "Do you think Qui-Gon's looking for us?"

"I know he is," Obi-Wan swiftly responded. "I feel him pulling on our Force bond. He isn't far away."

"...do you think he knows?" Satine whispered, clinging tighter to the Jedi's arm. "About us? About what we've done?"

"I-I..." Obi-Wan stammered, tripping over his own tongue and stumbling for a moment over his own feet. "I-I don't know," he finally decided, giving the Duchess a weak smile. "I don't know what he felt when he started reaching out to me. It's...possible he felt something, but I don't know if it's more than what he's already felt. Qui-Gon isn't an idiot, I'm sure he must know there's something between us..." He gave her a sidelong glance, a wry smirk upon his lips. "And you're not exactly subtle, Satine. With the way your emotions burn, the second he looks at you it'll be like you've lit a sign declaring that you had sex."

"Oh, you are a vulgar brute!" Satine snapped, throwing Obi-Wan's hand out of her grasp. "Has anyone told you, Obi-Wan Kenobi, that you are truly, desperately awful?"

"Duchess, my day isn't complete if you don't tell me so at least once," Obi-Wan drawled, his pace speeding up to keep up with Satine as she stomped past him, and when she tripped and stumbled, Obi-Wan was there to catch her, his arm swiftly snaking around her waist to pull her against him.

"...I'm not going to thank you..." Satine grumbled, her arms crossing over her chest and her face burning as she leaned back against the quietly chuckling Jedi. "It's your fault anyway, if you weren't such an uncultured peasant, it wouldn't have happened."

"Of course not, Duchess," Obi-Wan said, swiftly pressing his lips to her neck before he once again grabbed her hand and continued to lead her through the tunnels. "But might I remind her Highness that it's not exactly befitting of her noble birth to be having sexual relations in a cave."

"Your Master was right to warn me about how much of a shit you are."

"Qui-Gon doesn't call me a shit, Satine, how many times do I have to tell you that?!"

"He does, Obi-Wan," Satine said in a slow, singsong lit, a mischievous smirk on her lips as she wound her fingers around the Padawan's braid. "All. The. Time."

"It must be your influence, then, I was a model student before I met you," Obi-Wan grumbled. "You Mandalorians are all trouble."

"Maybe so, but I think you like it," Satine said, and even in the blue wash of light from the lightsaber, the smile that spread across Obi-Wan's lips was unmistakable.

The musty air within the tunnels grew warmer with a breeze that began blowing through it, whistling across the rock formations and bringing with it the echoing crash of ocean waves and the scent of salt and humid, tropical air. Switching off his lightsaber, Obi-Wan and Satine stood still as darkness encroached upon them, but was staved off by the light filtering in from further ahead, the bends and turns that remained within the tunnels not enough to stop the light from the cave's mouth from pouring inside. Carefully making their way along the rocky path and avoiding the drop into a wide, shallow stream where the water emerged from underground, Obi-Wan and Satine made their way toward the light, shielding their eyes after having become accustomed to the dark for so long.

Again, Obi-Wan could feel Qui-Gon pull upon his consciousness, and before where he had nothing to tell him, no landmarks to discern his location, this time, he could send his Master the clear image of the white sands and turquoise waters of the tropical lagoon he could see from the mouth of the cave. Beside him, he could hear Satine gasp, the girl clinging tighter to her arm as she looked out at the beauty before her, the insistent tug upon the Jedi's arm to follow her out to the beach faltering the moment after, Obi-Wan's heels dug firmly into the soft ground just as much as her own hesitation kept her inside the cave.

They were being hunted, had been on the run for so long that now, even in sight of this tropical paradise, couldn't bring themselves to abandon their fear and the safety that the concealed cave provided. From where they stood, they were perfectly shielded, their view of the beach allowing them a perfect vantage point from which they could see any oncoming attacks, any Death Watch that still lingered, any bounty hunters still laying in wait. To leave the safety of the earth above their heads and the tunnels that guarded their flanks would be madness, an unnecessary risk that neither Duchess nor Jedi could bring themselves to take, knowing full well that assassins may very well be laying in wait in the jungles behind the beach.

But even still, Obi-Wan could feel Satine's longing to be able to be so carefree once more, to be able to finally rest in a place such as this, free from duty and war and with her Jedi lover by her side. It swept through the Force so hot and so strong that Obi-Wan felt Satine's desires like they were his own. In a small, secret part of his heart, he knew the sentiment didn't just come from the passionate Mandalorian.

"Obi-Wan." The soft voice and a gentle touch upon his cheek drew the Jedi out of his thoughts, and he found himself looking down into Satine's light blue eyes, the breath catching in his throat at how beautiful she looked with the sunlight filtering through her pale blond hair and dancing across her smooth, perfect skin. It felt like they had been in that cave, away from the touch of the light, for so long that he had forgotten how radiant sweet Satine truly was.

"I don't know what tomorrow will bring," Satine quietly continued. "Since this war began, my entire life has been thrown to the winds, and I never know what will come next. I certainly never thought it would bring you into my life."

"Satine, I-"

"Hush..." she whispered, her fingers laying over Obi-Wan's lips and a slight smile flitting across her lips before grave sincerity chased it away. "We could die tomorrow. My allies could strike a major blow against the Death Watch, retake Sundari and the war could be over by the end of the week. Qui-Gon could find out about us and put an end to it all. There are a thousand, thousand things that could come between us, and this may have been the only chance we'll ever have to be together." Her gaze flicked away from the Jedi's face, her lip trembling for a moment as she looked out at the ocean, the whine of low flying starships in the distance growing louder as they drew closer.

"I just wanted you to know, Obi," Satine said as she looked back at him, a shy, genuine smile upon her lips as she ran the Padawan's braid between her fingers, "that no matter what happens, even if this is the only time we'll ever have to be lovers, I will always treasure it." Her fingers drifted down the Jedi's heated skin, her hand stopping on his chest to feel his heart jump when she pressed up against him. "I'm glad it was you, Obi-Wan Kenobi."

His arm wrapping around her waist, Obi-Wan, who had never been gifted with eloquence, didn't even try to find the right words to tell her how he felt. He instead held her close to him, his hand sliding into her silky hair, and kissed her, passionate and sweet, as if it were the last time he would ever have the chance, ignoring the growing roar of the Gauntlet starfighter as it landed upon the beach, its landing repulsors kicking fine, soft sand into the air in billowing clouds.

They only parted when they could hear voices, first modulated voices filtered through helmets, and then, above the rest, Qui-Gon's voice as the Jedi Master called for his Padawan and his charge. Reluctantly slipping out of each other's arms, Satine and Obi-Wan gave each other a final look, their fingers interlocking and lingering together for a moment before they finally parted and stepped out of the shadows of the cave and onto the beach, shielding their eyes against the direct sunlight. Seeing the two teenagers, Qui-Gon swiftly ran toward the pair and gathered them tightly in his arms when they collapsed against him, embracing them and quietly assuring them that they were safe as they clung to him.

"She can't stay here!" Krey Deshra snapped, his hand slamming so hard upon the table that the plates and silverware clattered upon it. "You had a chance to protect her, and she ended up in a cave in a jungle because your own children doubted your defenses!"

"Insult me, boy, and I'll see it's the last thing you do!" Torian Cadera shot back. "You think you can do better? Your fortress has been under attack by the Varads for months!"

"We are all being constantly attacked by the Varads..." Karin Kelborn drawled with a roll of her eyes. "Even the Death Watch has them at their throats. There isn''t a faction or a side that those mad dogs won't outright attack."

"But that's beside the point," Esko Kelborn said, continuing his twin's line of thought. "All of Mandalore knows the Duchess is here by now. Their next attack will be bigger and better coordinated. Krey's right. She can't stay here."

"Our enemies are likely expecting her to move," Shae Caldera said as she stood at her seat. "This is the safest place for her. The Duchess stays."

The shouting and arguing began again, all at once so not a single thing that the clan leaders were saying could be heard, and with a heavy sigh, Qui-Gon sunk down in his seat and looked across the table at Satine and Obi-Wan, the two teenagers resolutely ignoring the things happening around them as they shoveled food into their mouths. Their plates were stacked with a wide spread of smoked meats and sweet breads and tropical fruits and fresh fish, all laid out on long platters tantalizingly before them. For the past twenty minutes, Obi-Wan and Satine had been eating at the same rapid pace with no sign of slowing down anytime soon, oblivious to the fighting that was happening around them.

Which was highly uncharacteristic of Satine, who Qui-Gon had expected to come out swinging against her allies for fighting each other, citing disagreements such as these as the cause for Mandalore fracturing in the first place.

Instead, the teens just sat closely together and ate, occasionally trading food from off each other's plates, which Qui-Gon found to be unnecessary, as platters stacked with whatever they could possibly want sat just within reach. There was a change in the two teenagers, something small and subtle that had shifted that Qui-Gon had been quick to notice in the way they carried themselves. Perhaps it was simply the weariness of having been on the run once again, or the relief at having been brought back to safety, but there was a quite calm between them, peace and resolve where before there had been awkward tension born from the pull of their attraction to each other and the duties that would see them kept apart. Perhaps it was temporary, the lull in the turbulence that was their day to day lives, and when the relief had passed, they would return to their constant bickering to avoid the feelings they had for each other.

Or perhaps it was something else, and looking at the two of them, though he couldn't feel anything, he knew it was the case.

Something had happened between Obi-Wan and Satine. Something had changed between them.

"If we keep her here," Torian snapped, "we can gather our allies and make a push for Sundari. Taking back the capital from the Death Watch is key to winning the war, we can show the other clans we're strong enough to win. A victory like that will make other clans flock to our cause."

"We don't have the strength to launch a successful invasion of Sundari and you know it," Ralia Lok said, drumming her fingers upon the table. "The Vizslas, the Wrens, the Death Watch and all their allies defend Sundari, and you know damn well that it's easier to hold a territory than to take it. We don't have the numbers."

"Which is why we need to keep her safe here until we do," Shae insisted, and once again, the warriors began arguing.

"She isn't safe here," Eskol Kelborn snapped. "That much is evident. If we take her back to-"

"She isn't going to be safe in your kriffing forest, Kelborn!" Sedyn Sornell said. "She needs to be kept someplace fortified, our fortress is built into a mountain, there isn't any place safer in all of Mandalore."

"A mountain fortress didn't do the Iteras any good," Tanik Jendri said bitterly. "Maybe we should-"

"Maybe," Ressa Cadera snapped, "we should ask the Duchess what she wants."

There was silence for a long moment, heavy and awkward as the clan leaders stared at each other, and then slowly turned their gazes upon Satine, the young Duchess chewing upon a piece of blue fruit before she noticed that every eye was upon her. She stared at them for a moment, unconsciously leaning in toward Obi-Wan, before she swallowed the fruit and wiped her mouth.

"I will not hide behind fortress walls while my people fight and die in this foolish war," Satine said calmly, her hand laying upon the armored gauntlet on Obi-Wan's arm, the Padawan in his armor looking every bit the Mandalorian protector as the clan leaders. "My Jedi and I will be returning to deal with Clan Ordo before we head to Kalevala to meet with the Rodarchs."

"Are you out of your mind?" Torian gasped. "Duchess, you-"

"This was discussed before," Satine interrupted. "The Ordos have broken away from the Vizslas. We have the opportunity to turn an enemy into an ally, and it is not an opportunity I will allow to go to waste."

"The circumstances are different now, Duchess," Shae said quietly. "This was before we were attacked in our own fortress."

"I fail to see how that changes anything," Satine said, her voice hard and harsh. "If I abandoned my plans every time I was attacked, I'd never get anything done. My commitment to peace does not mean cowardice."

"Of course not, Duchess..." Karin Kelborn said quietly. "But there is no reason for you to go personally to deal with those traitorous Ordos. We can handle them."

"No..." Satine whispered, her hand tightening around Obi-Wan's arm, the tension that gripped her shoulders easing when she felt the Padawan's leg rub gently against hers, and she flashed him a small, brief smile before she turned her attention back to the clan leaders. "I have to be the one to go. There's...something I need to prove to myself."

"You don't have anything to prove, Duchess, you-"

"I do," Satine said, her voice firm and leaving no room for compromise. "Not just about my ability to give my people faith in my rule." She stood from her seat, drawing up as tall and regal as she could, Obi-Wan rising as well to stand beside her. "My Jedi and I are leaving at first light tomorrow. Make certain that my ship is ready to leave." Without another word, Satine turned to leave, her fingers dragging across the chest of Obi-Wan's armor beaconing him to follow, leaving the clan leaders to look silently at the door their Duchess walked out of.

"Excuse me..." Qui-Gon muttered, pushing away from the table and giving the Mandalorians a small, apologetic smile before he followed after the teenagers. There was little wonder now why Satine hadn't been concerned before about the arguing among her allies. She had planned to do as she wished, regardless of what they decided, making the disagreement between them entirely null and void, a conflict that would come to an immediate end the moment she announced her intentions.

"You're magnificent..." Obi-Wan whispered to Satine as they strode out into the warm air of one of the Cadera fortress' many courtyards, the wind sweet and the sky swiftly darkening with the setting of the sun. "Telling all those Mandalorian warlords what to do."

"Oh?" Satine asked with a mischievous quirk of her eyebrow. "Is that what you like, Obi-Wan? Perhaps I ought to tell you what to do."

"You may try," Obi-Wan scoffed. "But don't count on being successful, I'm frightfully stubborn."

"Yes, I'm aware," Satine muttered, her eyes fixed before her, but a sly smirk played upon her lips. "Because you're a little shit."

"So help me, you insufferable-"

"Duchess!" Qui-Gon called, his already long stride lengthening to catch up with the teenagers. "You don't believe you're being a bit rash?" he asked when he walked beside the girl.

"Do you believe I should stay here, Qui-Gon?" the girl asked, shooting the Jedi Master a hard look, and with a sigh, Qui-Gon shook his head.

"No, of course not," he said quickly. "But we don't know when we will next be among friendly faces. It wouldn't hurt to spend a few more days among your allies while Obi-Wan recovers and you coordinate your next movements with the clan leaders." A wry smirk touched Qui-Gon's lips as he looked down at his charge. "Force knows we can't trust the Ordos to be hospitable. Not without a steep price."

"Yes, well, the Ordos are in need of a reminder that I am their Duchess!" Satine snapped, offense making her voice hard and commanding, and after a moment, the girl seemed to wither, her shoulders slumping and a shaking sigh falling from her lips. "My people have a saying. Mishuk gotal'u meshuroke, pako kyore. Pressure makes gems, ease makes decay." She looked up at the Jedi, a small, sad smile on her lips. "The truth is, Qui-Gon," she said in a timid, trembling voice, "if I stay here any longer, I fear I'll never leave. Vorpa'ya is beautiful, and surrounded by my allies...it feels like peace." She stopped, her hand grasping on to Obi-Wan's arm and her eyes cast at the ground. "For the good of myself and my people, I need to leave. I will not allow myself to decay here, not when the success of my rule demands I be forged in this bloody war."

"That is, perhaps, the most Mandalorian thing I've ever heard," Qui-Gon said with a sigh, and over the Duchess' head, he could see Obi-Wan took at him, a mischievous grin slowly spreading across his lips.

"A novel thing, to be sure," Obi-Wan said in a slow, lazy drawl, "since the commitment to pacifism is most certainly not Mandalorian."

With a furious curse, Satine shoved Obi-Wan as hard as she could, sending the Padawan stumbling off the path to fall into a bush covered in large, red flowers, the insulted Duchess standing over the shrub and shouting in Mando'a at the boy as he flailed to free himself from the tangle of branches, people walking by slowing to watch the commotion as their Duchess, from their perspective, deemed it necessary to shout at the plant life. Groaning and rubbing his temples, all Qui-Gon could do was shake his head, eventually helping his flustered student out of the bush when the Duchess had finished shouting and stomped ahead. Things, perhaps, had not changed so much as he had feared.

"I suppose you consider it necessary to antagonize the Duchess," Qui-Gon said flatly, folding his hands inside the sleeves of his robes and watching as a disgruntled Obi-Wan picked twigs out of his hair.

"I did it for you Master," Obi-Wan grumbled, giving the older Jedi a tight smile when he saw the unamused frown on Qui-Gon's face. "I sensed your disquiet at how well Satine and I were getting along. I thought you would be comforted to know that Satine is as disagreeable as ever." The Padawan hissed in pain when Qui-Gon grabbed hold of his braid and gave it a sharp tug, and Obi-Wan looked up at his Master with great offense that Qui-Gon decided was most certainly not genuine. "I think you've been spending too much time with the Duchess, Master, her temper is rubbing off on you..."

"Just as she has effected you in many, many ways," Qui-Gon said flatly, keeping a hard, steady glare on his student. "Her propensity to goad reactions out of people the least of them. What have you two been up to, I wonder."

"Nothing out of the ordinary, Master..." Obi-Wan said, bowing his head as he walked beside Qui-Gon, the two Jedi following after Satine at a distance. "Running from bounty hunters, hiding in caves, saving her life..." He shrugged. "Just the usual here in the Mandalore sector..."

"Is that so?" Qui-Gon asked, eying his Padawan and reaching through the Force to feel at his emotions, but as usual, his introspective student was tightly guarded, his face kept impassive as he distanced himself from his emotions. As a good Jedi should, but it made Qui-Gon feel unsettled. "You will apologize to her," he quietly muttered. "Immediately. I don't know what you're trying to prove, but bickering like you two seem so fond of may very well lead us to a similar situation as we found ourselves in on Ziost. I won't allow that to happen."

"On Ziost, Master..." Obi-Wan scoffed, his head bowing slightly in a show of modesty that did not reflect the dismissive tone of his voice. "Certainly you see the difference..." he said whispered, a soft sincerity in his voice that almost begged to be understood, the slightest tremor in the Force allowing Qui-Gon to glimpse the emotions simmering within his student. "We truly hated each other on Ziost, in the beginning. Now we...we're closer..."

"All the easier to get underneath each other's skin, yes?" Qui-Gon asked, and the Padawan laughed quietly as he nodded. "...you must be vigilant that you don't take it too far, Obi-Wan."

"Master, Satine and I tease each other all the time, we-"

"Not just the teasing," Qui-Gon gently interrupted, and Obi-Wan swiftly averted his eyes, his face flushing under the gaze of his Master. "You know very well where these things may lead."

"...I'm to apologize, yes?" Obi-Wan asked, clearing his throat and giving his Master a tight smile before he began jogging down the path to catch up with Satine, Qui-Gon following with a sigh as he lengthened his stride. "Satine!" Obi-Wan called, and the girl stopped and turned to face him, though the look of irritation on her face was unmistakable.

"I remember a time it was a struggle to get you to speak at all," Satine said flatly when the Jedi stopped before her. "I'm beginning to miss those days..."

"Yes, well..." Taking a deep breath and clearing his throat, Obi-Wan bowed respectfully, which did little to ease the girl's annoyance. "I apologize, Satine," Obi-Wan said quietly when he felt Qui-Gon behind him, the Jedi Master having finally caught up. "You're very Mandalorian, violence is in your blood."

Without any warning, Satine rose her hand and slapped her Jedi protector, the Padawan hissing and holding his stinging cheek, the skin warm and red and very clearly marked with the imprint of the Duchess' hand.

"Are you sure you're a pacifist?" Obi-Wan grumbled, and Satine jabbed her finger against the armor covering his chest.

"Difficult, obstinate, hateful boy! You're the reason my people hunt the Jedi!" Satine snapped, her face flushing red with anger, and Obi-Wan couldn't help the amused scoff that slipped past his lips.

"Oh?" he asked, a wry smirk upon his lips as looked at the angry girl and very deliberately ignored the warning hand of his Master upon his shoulder. "What's that say about you, Duchess, you're hunted as well. We have so much in common..."

"You little-"

"Alright, that's enough!" Qui-Gon snapped, stepping between the two teenagers and using the Force to hold back a frustrated Satine's hand when she rose it to strike Obi-Wan again. "I expect better from you!"

"Obi-Wan has no-"

"From both of you!" Qui-Gon harshly interrupted, and Satine averted her eyes, her face flushing hot with embarrassment. "You're the highborn leader of Mandalore, Satine, and you will act like it. And you," he said as he reeled on his Padawan. "You've disappointed me, Obi-Wan. Go check the ship, see that it's ready to leave by morning. I'm taking the Duchess to her quarters and you will meet us there when you are done."

"...yes, Master..." Obi-Wan muttered, his head hung in shame as he bowed and shuffled off in the other direction to do as he was ordered. With the Padawan gone, Qui-Gon grabbed a thoroughly chastened Satine by the arm and led her down the path through the courtyards toward one of the secondary fortress towers where her new quarters were located, a much more inconspicuous location than the previous high central tower.

"Well?" Qui-Gon said firmly when he saw no other Mandalorians milling about. "Obi-Wan was evasive on the matter, but you won't be. What exactly happened out there?" Satine remained silent, her eyes fixed upon the path before her, a thing that was more telling that most answers Qui-Gon knew she would have supplied. "Satine," Qui-Gon began again in a calm, soothing voice. "If you and Obi-Wan can't get along-"

"We do!" Satine swiftly interrupted, a displeased frown crossing her face as she looked up at the patient Jedi. "Maybe you didn't notice, but we got along great this afternoon, and before you suggest it was because we were in company of the clan leaders, let me remind you, Qui-Gon, that Obi-Wan doesn't have any tact. At all."

"So, what do you suppose that was all about, then?" Qui-Gon asked quietly, earning him a disdainful scoff from Satine.

"Relief," she answered almost bitterly. "It's a novelty to feel safe enough to relax and joke around."

"Is that what it is?" Qui-Gon asked skeptically, and the Duchess looked up at him almost scornfully.

"What else should it be?" she asked with a shrug. "For all the times he's put himself in harm's way for my defense, it can be nothing else."

"Really," Qui-Gon said flatly, nodding to the Mandalorian guard that quickly stepped aside to allow the Duchess to pass into the fortress. "Because from where I stand, it looks as though you and Obi-Wan are attempting to hide how close you two have become." At that, Satine balked, her previously even pace faltering as she staggered, her cool defiance cracking to reveal a heated mess of emotions roiling within her. Grief and confusion and anger, longing and passion and unrestrained joy, embarrassment and shame and regret, all of it burning through the Force like flames that were nearly to hot and too bright to even look at, but even still, Qui-Gon knew it all too well and felt a painful, sympathetic aching begin to beat in his own chest.

He had felt the same way when he recognized that he had fallen in love with Tahl.

"Maybe," Satine squeaked, righting herself and returning to her purposeful stride, though her voice didn't reflect the confidence of her body language, "Obi-Wan and I simply like teasing each other."

"Oh, there's no doubt about that," Qui-Gon said, following behind the girl as she stepped into the turbolift that would carry them to her quarters within the fortress tower. "But that's a product of affection, not distaste."

"Have you even met Obi-Wan?!" Satine asked, a horrified expression on her face as she looked up at the Jedi Master. "That boy is nothing short of infuriating!"

"Satine," Qui-Gon said with a sigh, giving the girl a knowing look that she couldn't hold and quickly averted her eyes. "You've never been shy about your feelings for him before, not with me. Rejecting them now won't make it any easier when you must part ways."

"I know that!" Satine snapped as she reeled on the Jedi, but her anger quickly faded when she saw the sympathy on the Jedi's face. "I know..." she said in a shaking whisper. "But I can't help the way I feel, Qui-Gon. I know my duty, I know what must come at the end of this war..." The turbolift door opened, and Satine gave the Jedi a defiant, sorrowful look before she stepped out into the hallway. "Let me at least have this."

"These emotions can lead you to forget your duty, Duchess..." Qui-Gon quietly cautioned as he walked beside the girl.

"All I have ever done, all that has ever mattered is Mandalore!" Satine snapped, her stride lengthening when they turned a corner and saw the door to her quarters at the end of the hallway. "It's an insult to even think that my feelings for a stupid boy would eclipse my people in my heart!"

"You aren't the only one involved in this, Satine," Qui-Gon said quietly as he followed the fuming girl into her room. "Obi-Wan-"

"Suggesting that Obi-Wan would abandon his duty is an insult as well!" Satine snapped as she reeled on the Jedi Master, the door having closed behind them affording them privacy they had lacked out in the courtyards. "Obi-Wan's going to be a Jedi Knight one day! As his Master, you should have more faith in him than that!"

"There is more at stake for those connected to the Force than just that, Satine," Qui-Gon said quietly, almost sadly, and the Duchess found the fury fading from her heart, replaced with sympathetic melancholy as she saw the pain etched on the Jedi Master's features. "There's a reason we are forbidden from attachment. These emotions can lead a Jedi down a dangerous road..."

"The Dark Side," Satine whispered, and his jaw clenched tight, Qui-Gon nodded. "Obi-Wan has mentioned it."

"I suspect he would have," Qui-Gon said with a sad chuckle, his fingers running through his long hair as he looked away from the Duchess. "He was there when I nearly lost myself to the Dark Side, he witnessed where attachment may lead."

"...what was her name?" Satine tentatively asked, shuffling closer to the Jedi Master and laying her hand upon his arm, and with a sigh, Qui-Gon turned his eyes back on the girl, giving her a small smile when he saw sympathy in her pale blue eyes.

"Tahl," Qui-Gon muttered almost wistfully, closing her eyes and seeing her face as clear as if she were standing before him. "Another Jedi. We were friends for years, and lovers for not nearly long enough." Opening his eyes again, he stared resolutely at the ground, silence hanging over them as Satine patiently waited for him to continue. "We were on a mission together when she was killed. I don't blame myself for her death, it wasn't my fault, and there was nothing I could have done. But I felt the Dark Side in my grief, and I let it inside my heart and allowed it to consume me until I was filled with nothing but the need for revenge."

"...did you do it?" Satine asked, her hand squeezing around the Jedi's arm. "Did you avenge her?"

"I nearly did..." Qui-Gon whispered. "I hunted the man that killed her, I had him disarmed and defenseless and so help me, I was ready to murder the man." He took a deep breath, shuddering despite himself, and he grabbed hold of the sleeves of his robe to hide the shaking in his hands. "I would have done it, had Obi-Wan not been there to pull me away from the brink. He...showed me the light when all I could see was darkness."

"I guess that's why Obi-Wan was so emotionless when we first met, huh?" Satine asked quietly. "Seeing his Master like that because he fell in love."

"I admit I set a bad example," Qui-Gon said with a soft, sad chuckle, flashing the Duchess a quick smile before he led her over to the couch and waited for her to have a seat before, wincing, he sat down as well, his injuries still healing and making him ache. "I'm far from a model Jedi, but I owe it to Obi-Wan to guide him down the right path. There are too many ways the Dark Side can grip us once we have become attached, and once it does, it is difficult to be released from its grasp."

"But not impossible," Satine said stubbornly. "It's not a certainty, is it? If Obi-Wan became attached and something were to happen, he could turn away. Like you did."

"It's possible," Qui-Gon said quietly. "Each Jedi's struggles are different. What may tempt one toward the Dark Side may have no meaning to another." He turned a hard look on the Duchess when he felt the Force swell with emotion, pride and desire and the stubborn righteousness that the girl so often brandished like a weapon. "But there is a reason that the Jedi forbid attachment," he warned. "It corrupts our ability to maintain impartial and fair in our work as peacekeepers and makes us lose sight of the bigger picture. Far too many Jedi have fallen to darkness because of attachment, be it to a place, or a cause, or a person. It's true," Qui-Gon said swiftly, raising his hand for silence when it looked as though Satine would argue. "Obi-Wan may not be swayed by such things. But knowing what he could stand to lose, is it worth risking that chance?"

"I don't-"

"I was a Jedi Master when I nearly turned to the Dark Side," Qui-Gon calmly interrupted. "And I nearly didn't have the strength to resist. Obi-Wan's just a student. Is it fair to believe he could turn away when his Master could not?"

"...no," Satine whispered, giving the Jedi Master a small, sympathetic smile as she clasped his hands in her own. "I'm so very sorry for what happened to you, Qui-Gon. I understand what it means to lose people you love." She patted his hands, allowing them to slip from her grasp as she stood, her back straight and her head held up proudly. "You don't need to worry about Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon. He's stronger than you know."

"I've never underestimated Obi-Wan, Satine," Qui-Gon said quietly, the slightest hint of pride in his voice. "In many ways, he's a better Jedi than I can ever hope to be. Why is it do you think I've entrusted so much of your protection to him?"

"He certainly hasn't disappointed," Satine said, a smug smirk touching her lips. "I could not hope for a more dutiful protector so fiercely devoted to his mission." Qui-Gon looked up at the Duchess, a slight, forced smile on his face to see the girl so pleased and so proud, keeping silent about how his Padawan's devotion was exactly what worried him most. "Just don't tell him I said so," Satine commanded. "It wouldn't do to give that insufferable boy a bigger head than he already has."

"I wouldn't dream of telling him, Duchess," Qui-Gon drawled "We wouldn't want him to believe you appreciated him, now would we?" Satine flinched and broke her gaze when she heard the door hiss open, her eyes wide with fear for just a moment before she saw Obi-Wan come through the door, the young Jedi silent and almost sullen as he averted his eyes from the Duchess.

"You've given me a lot to think about, Qui-Gon," Satine said with a contented sigh. "I would go and reflect upon it."

"Of course, Duchess," Qui-Gon muttered, the ache in his leg and his side keeping him seated upon the couch. "We will leave first thing in the morning for Ordo. Rest well."

"Satine, wait!" Obi-Wan called, and he took a hesitant step forward when the girl turned to face him. "I...apologize," he stammered, his hands wringing before him. "I know I've been difficult, I-"

"It's alright, Obi-Wan," Satine interrupted. "You don't need to explain. I understand." Obi-Wan's face flushed, his heart beginning to pound in his chest when Satine tossed him a warm, easy smile, his eyes never leaving her as she walked into the bedroom, more keenly aware of the way her body shifted and moved beneath her clothing than he had ever been before.

"You're a fool if you think I don't see what's going on," Qui-Gon said almost flippantly as he stood, grimacing as the wound in his leg painfully objected to the movement. It took a moment before Obi-Wan looked away from the door Satine had disappeared behind, and when he looked at his Master, Qui-Gon found defiance in those blue eyes. "I might not know the extent of what you two have been up to, but I know this," Qui-Gon warned as he took a few steps closer to his Padawan. "You're attached, Obi-Wan. Jedi are forbidden from-"

"Aren't you the one that's always telling me that sometimes the rules get in the way of the mission?" Obi-Wan asked calmly, though there was a sharp edge in his voice that made a knot of guilt coil in Qui-Gon's chest, even as he felt his own natural defiance rise to meet his student's.

"This is not what I meant, and you know it."

"And why not!" Obi-Wan challenged, so firm in his conviction that Qui-Gon took a step back, uncertain where his timid, compliant Obi-Wan had gone. "I've seen you gamble and manipulate people's thoughts and deceive people for the sake of the mission, I've seen you defy the Council a thousand times! Why is it that those rules can be broken, but this one must be obeyed? Who decides which rules can be broken for the sake of the mission, Master?"

"I do," Qui-Gon snapped, the lash of disappointment and authority so sharp through the Force that Obi-Wan's defiance finally crumbled, realizing he had so foolishly crossed a line he hadn't meant to cross. "This is my mission, Obi-Wan, and you are my Padawan. Like it or not, you are to adhere to my will. One day, you will be a Jedi Knight, free to break what rules you please, but until that day comes, you are to follow my orders."

"Am I to follow your example as well?" Obi-Wan tried again, attempting to capture the challenge he held before, but finding himself more timid than he would have liked.

"I wish you would," Qui-Gon said stoically. "You have seen first hand the path attachment leads down. You were to learn from my failure and avoid that particular temptation to the Dark Side, not view it as a challenge to break one of the few rules I strictly adhere to." Obi-Wan was silent, and Qui-Gon watched as the defiance fled from his student's being, his eyes averting and his head hung in shame as he took a respectful step away from the Master, his shoulders slumped and his hands wringing before him. The Padawan quietly began whispering something to himself, so quietly that Qui-Gon couldn't hear what he was saying, but he could see the so familiar cadence of the Jedi Code upon the teenager's lips.

Qui-Gon sighed heavily in resignation, the staunch line he had drawn fading away before guilt and regret. He hadn't meant to force Obi-Wan to flee behind those walls of his for refuge, and not for the first time, he felt as though he had failed his student. He wouldn't be a Padawan forever. One day, Obi-Wan would have to make these decisions for himself, and he'd need the strength of will to stand by what he believed. Discouraging independent thought and the defiance to challenge what he was told as he had done wasn't only hypocritical, it was detrimental to his student's growth.

"It would appear that neither of us are our best selves at the moment," Qui-Gon said quietly as he carefully lowered himself into an arm chair opposite the couch. "Perhaps the relief of being safe after that battle effected me as well as you. I apologize, Obi-Wan. I've been unworthy of you."

"I don't have a right to speak to you the way I did..."

"Of course you do," Qui-Gon scoffed. "It isn't wrong to challenge your Master. This particular subject is just...very close to me still. Too raw and too personal, perhaps, for me to see beyond myself. You're a different Jedi than I am, Obi-Wan. I just worry about you and the road your attachment may lead you down."

"...I find strength in what I feel, Master," Obi-Wan whispered, his voice shaking as he tentatively pressed the issue again. "Attachment is forbidden, I understand, but I'm stronger than I've ever been, Master. My...these emotions give me the power and resolve to succeed in this mission when I would have failed long ago without them."

"And if we fail?" Qui-Gon asked gravely. "This is war, Padawan. The worst may occur despite our best efforts, and we may fail in our mission to protect her. What then? What path do you suspect you will be led down?"

"The path to the Force, Master," Obi-Wan said with a sad smile. "I don't suspect our enemies will succeed in killing Satine without me dying in the attempt to protect her."

"She could be poisoned," Qui-Gon said quietly. "Targeted and shot from a distance before we have a chance to act, a thousand things could happen that we could not anticipate that could see her dead while we still live. What then, my Padawan?"

"...then we would have failed our mission," Obi-Wan said sadly, averting his eyes from his Master once again.

"And you, Obi-Wan. What will happen to you, faced with failure and the loss of a person you have become so attached to?"

"...it will be time to let go," Obi-Wan said in a trembling voice, so quiet that Qui-Gon had to lean in to hear him, and the Master waited in silence as the distraught Padawan took a shaking breath and pushed the swell of emotions away, sorrow and regret, Qui-Gon saw, but no anger, no possession, no darkness like he had feared. "My time with Satine was never meant to last, Master," Obi-Wan muttered, the weakness in his voice gone with the strength of resolve. "This war will not go on forever. One way or another, it will end, and when that day comes, our mission will be over, and the Duchess and I will go our separate ways."

With a heavy sigh, Qui-Gon slumped down in the chair, his eyes fixed upon his Padawan, the boy still and silent, a melancholy resolve hanging over him that was both so alike and so different from the dutiful, steadfast boy he had first brought with him to Mandalore. His obedient, dedicated Padawan was growing up, forged by war and the feelings he harbored for the Duchess he was sworn to protect, and looking at him now, he could see a glimpse of the man Obi-Wan would become, loyal and dedicated, compassionate and wise beyond his years, if not a bit headstrong, the perfect model of what a Jedi should be. All thing that, perhaps, the Force was pushing him to learn now, mysteriously working to build the foundations of steadfast Obi-Wan Kenobi and the Jedi Master he may one day become.

For all the pain it caused, despite the dark path he turned down, Qui-Gon couldn't regret the time he had spent with Tahl, never regretted becoming her lover, and knew that in the end, he had been the better for it.

"I wonder..." Qui-Gon muttered as he eyed his student. "If this is the will of the Force, I've no right to interfere." Obi-Wan perked up, his eyes wide with hope and surprise that was swiftly held in check by his Master's hard gaze. "Do not mistake that for approval, Padawan. As your Master, I object to this very thin, very dangerous line you're walking. But as a Jedi..." He shrugged. "It is not for me to dictate the path the Force means for you to follow."

"Master, I-"

"Take care, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon warned. "If you give me reason to believe you've gone to far, I will put an end to this."

"I understand," Obi-Wan said quietly as he bowed to Qui-Gon. "I will remain mindful and vigilant as always, Master."

"We shall see..." Qui-Gon said with a huff, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture. "Go get some rest, Obi-Wan. We will need you at your best when you fly us to Ordo in the morning."

Bowing once again, Obi-Wan strode past his Master, his eyes lingering on Satine's door for a long moment as he passed it, his heart leaping in his chest at the thought of her and yearning for the moment when they would next be alone.

Entry one hundred thirty one.

I've spent the last few hours trying to write down my thoughts, my feelings, all that's transpired over the past twenty four hours, and I've come up with nothing. I can't. How could I? All I've managed to do is scribble on the page. I don't have the words to explain what I feel. Perhaps the words simply don't exist, or perhaps I'm so smitten that language fails me. Regardless of what the reason may be, explaining how dearly I hold Obi-Wan in my heart is an impossibility that I won't even bother attempting. Or, I shall stop attempting now that I have torn so many pages out from my book.

We travel in the morning for Ordo. I'd be nervous or frightened, returning there after last time, had I not had at my side the things I have now. I have an army, clans that support my vision for Mandalore, true Mandalorians that fight to see me returned to the throne. They will not be going with me, it's true, but just knowing they are there gives me the strength I lacked before. I felt like nobody before, a Duchess in name only, hunted by all her kinsmen. Now at least I know I go to Ordo with the backing of powerful clans, giving me the ability to deal with them as the ruler of Mandalore, instead of just as a scared girl on the run for her life. At least this time, I know I'm not alone.

This time, when I stand before Veela and Edric Ordo, Obi-Wan will stand beside me not only as my protector, but as my lover. And that makes all the difference.

Being with him was...indescribable. Everything I had expected, everything I had hoped for and so much more. He has come so far, from the emotionless, silent boy I met on Sundari so long ago. I've come to love him and treasure him, my sweet protector, more than anything, and though we both know this will end one day, I'm glad it was him that I first gave myself to, and I will always treasure the nights we spent in each other's embrace. It's only been one night, of course. So far. I fully intend for there to be many, many more before this war is won. If I must be on the run for my life, if I must be hunted, and if I must have my sweet lover taken from me when I take my throne, there isn't a force that exists that can keep me from making that boy a man as many times over as I possibly can.

Qui-Gon's worried, of course. After what he went through with his own love, I can hardly blame him. But I don't understand how he can't see that there is no darkness in the love between Obi-Wan and I. Love is pure and beautiful and good, the strongest thing in the entire galaxy. How like a Jedi to take something so perfect and ruin it...

I can hear them speaking in the other room and I can't stop my heart from racing just hearing my Obi's voice. Qui-Gon didn't specifically tell me no, but I suspect he will tell Obi-Wan that he's forbidden from...all that we've been doing. We'll have to continue keeping it a secret, but I never expected it to be any other way. Qui-Gon knowing, even if he doesn't know what we've been doing, means we need to be more careful than we were before. I can do that. I already yearn to feel Obi-Wan inside me again, my entire body aches for him with just the thought of that beautiful boy, but that will just make the next time we are able to meet as lovers all the sweeter.

And here I thought I couldn't find the words when I sat down to write. I love him. So much that the fluttering in my stomach makes me dizzy and I feel as though my chest will burst with how fast my heart is pounding. It certainly doesn't feel like it's healthy, but I revel in it and cannot help the craving for more. It's silly, but I fear saying it aloud. I think we both do. Perhaps because it makes it feel too real. Perhaps because it makes us so much more keenly aware that it cannot last. Perhaps because it makes us see how our duty must keep us apart despite how deeply we feel for each other.

I am his mission...

I'm beginning to feel like he's mine as well.