We didn't speak for two years, until after Qui-gon had passed and we were sent on a mission together, where we were able to reconcile, for a time. But it was the first of many times that we had done that strange dance, and the memory still cut into me. Yes, I was foolish and naïve, yes, I knew that as Jedi, the fact that we had formed an attachment to one another was technically forbidden, but the whole thing still felt like a betrayal. He lied to me, I realized, thinking over what Anakin had said. He lied about the extent of his involvement with that girl. But I wasn't surprised. Obi-wan was not called "The Negotiator" because he was adept at angering those in delicate situations; still, it bothered me more than I could say to think that he had thought it necessary to do so with me.

Meditation was not cutting it, so I decided to do some drills. However, before I could do so, my comm beeped.

"Kalinda?"

"Master Kenobi."

"Would you please come to the Council chambers?"

"Be right there," I replied, keeping my sigh until after we had ended the communication. This should be good.

It was worse than I'd imagined. Much worse.

Master Windu and Obi-wan were the only Council members present at the time, so I did my best to avoid Obi-wan's gaze as I stood in the center of the room, glancing at him only once, enough to see the shadows under his eyes. Keeping with his tradition of making me exceptionally uncomfortable, Master Windu steepled his fingers and regarded me thoughtfully before he spoke to me, a habit that still made me quell, despite my long-ago ascent to the level of Knight. Finally he spoke.

"What do you know of the situation on Mandalore?"

It was an effort to keep my thoughts calm. "I know that the ruler has proclaimed Mandalore to be a neutral system, but that there have been recent attempts on her life. But I thought that the affair was settled, more or less?"

Mace nodded. "True enough. But we feel that she still requires a measure of protection, which she has-begrudgingly-agreed to. Despite her objections, the Jedi have not forgotten the attempts on her life; the terrorist group known as Death watch is still at large and unaccounted for, therefore, you are ordered to accompany the Duchess back to Mandalore for the time being and ensure her safety."

If he had pulled out a blaster and shot me in the chest I could not have been more surprised. As it was, I'm fairly sure that my expression must have given my thoughts away, because Obi-wan spoke next-the one person that I truly did not want to hear.

"I know that it may not make sense to you," he began as I turned towards him. "But we feel that your talents as a Sentinel will come in handy here, as the Duchess does not wish your presence to be obtrusive." He gave me a look that I could not read, nor did I care to.

"Unobtrusive? I gather that means I am not to take any troops?" I said, looking back at Mace. Stonewall will be disappointed.

He shook his head. "Not a full contingent, no. But you should take one or two to provide backup. They'll have to blend in, of course, as will you, but the Duchess is willing to provide proper attire." He leaned back in his chair. "She returns to Mandalore tomorrow morning and you will accompany her. Again, let me stress that you are to be as discreet as possible. She does not wish to be followed around, but has agreed to let you keep an eye on her-for the time being." With that, he gave me a nod of dismissal; never in my life have I fled the Council Chambers quite as fast.

As soon as I reached the hallway I contacted Stonewall, the clone trooper I'd formed a working relationship with on my last mission to Basrah; he'd saved my life and I'd made him my Captain, when and if I ever went on any type of mission. "Stonewall?"

"General Halcyon."

It was good to hear his voice, though I felt silly for thinking it, as all clones sounded and looked the same-naturally. In any case, I relayed the delightful news and instructed him to meet me at the Temple the next morning before we met with the Duchess' retinue as I made my way back to my quarters to prepare.

"Of course, General." There was a pause.

"You have something to add?" I stopped at the turbolift, curious to hear what he had to say.

"I...It will be good to work together, again. I was starting to wonder..."

Despite myself, I smiled. "I feel the same way. See you tomorrow." As I signaled the doors of the lift to close, a hand slipped between them at the last moment, stopping them from shutting. My heart tightened, but I did my best to keep my voice neutral. "Obi-wan."

"We need to talk." He entered the lift and we began to careen downward to the level where my quarters were located.

My arms folded in front of me and I stared straight ahead. "Oh?"

With a sudden exhale, he slammed his knuckle into the panel of the lift, causing it to stop suddenly, after which he attached his gaze to me. "Why do I get the feeling that you are shutting me out?"

"You are remarkably perceptive when you want to be."

"And you never cease to act like a sixteen year old."

"Whose idea was it?" I said suddenly, glaring at him. "Who made this ludicrous suggestion? I don't think even you would be that caustic." My fingers twitched to the silver ring on my right hand and I absently began to fidget with it.

He sighed and leaned against the wall of the lift, looking older than his years. "It...just came up. Satine was absolutely against the idea until Mace promised her that the Jedi would blend in and be unobtrusive. You are the only Sentinel who was on hand, hence..." His arm spread in a gesture that conveyed the logical progression that I was to presume.

Rebellion stirred in me and I raised my chin. "She didn't request you?"

A bitter laugh. "No. She did not." He stroked his beard thoughtfully as he watched me toy with the ring. "You're not still upset with me for what happened all those years ago, are you?"

Reaching forward, I tapped the panel and we began moving again. "I just don't like being thrust into this kind of...position," I said at last. "I'll do my duty, of course, but I just wish that Master Windu had decided to have me scrub the hangar bay with a toothbrush instead of...this."

Obi-wan stood beside me and we made the rest of the journey in silence until we reached my quarters. "You never answered my question, Kalinda." His tone was careful, hesitant. My door opened and I made to go inside, but he stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. "Kali?"

There was a great deal that I wanted to say, to ask, but I held my tongue. "I need to get ready," I replied, my sixteen-year-old attitude coming through in full force as I maneuvered out of his grasp. "Thank you for the explanation. Good night."

I shut the door in his face.

It was difficult to sleep that night. Eventually, I gave up altogether and spent the morning meditating in my room, trying not to think. As promised, Stonewall met me at the front entrance to the Jedi Temple, straightening his posture and saluting as I approached him later that morning. "At ease," I said with a laugh. While we made our way to the shuttle that would take us to the guest quarters where the Duchess was staying, I briefed the clone. "She's going to provide us with some Mandalorian garb so we don't stand out," I said after I'd relayed the rest. "Above all, discretion is key, Stone. We are to remain as unobtrusive as possible, which means no more saluting me or calling me 'General' or anything like that. 'Kalinda' or 'Kali' is fine. I think we can get by with calling you Stone as well, unless there's another name you'd like?"

He shook his head. "Can't think of one off the top. Stone'll do." He was not wearing his helmet and gave me a look. "With all due respect General-"

"Kalinda."

"Kalinda," he said. "My face is pretty well known throughout the galaxy...how is this whole 'unobtrusive' thing going to work, exactly?"

I frowned. "Hmmmm. Well, you could wear a Mandalorian helmet, I guess. Or we could give you a false nose and a wig-how do you feel about going blonde?-or we could do a bit of facial reconstruction." He paled and I chuckled.

"Your sense of humor again, General?"

"Kalinda. And yes, quite."

"Blast it! Kalinda." He looked at me intently. "Kali?"

A grin crept to my face, despite everything. "Yes, Stone?"

"You were joking about the wig, weren't you?"

I couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, Stonewall."

We arrived at the designated spot where the Duchess' cruiser was waiting. After my conversation with Obi-wan, I had spent the better part of the night checking every database that I could for information about Satine Kryze; however, for all of my research I learned surprisingly little about the woman. She had been born and raised, it seemed, to be a leader to the people of Mandalore, and had faced many obstacles during her tenure-not the least of which being her time spent on the run with an unnamed pair of Jedi. There were plenty of vids and pictures of her, so I knew what to expect in that department, anyway: stately, tall, elegant and blonde; pretty much the opposite of me in every way.

Little was said of her personality, though her actions showed her to be proud, arrogant, and utterly devoted to her ideals of pacifism. She did not seem like a woman easily swayed to anyone else's point of view, which made me wonder what exactly Master Windu had promised to get her to agree to my presence. As Stone and I departed our shuttle, I cast a glance around; the area looked clear and I sensed no hostile presence, so I focused my attention on the slender man who was coming to meet us.

"Greetings, Master Jedi," he said, giving a slight bow to me and nodding at Stone. "I am Theirry, the Duchess' steward. My lady Satine is expecting you; please, follow me." He lead us to the Duchess' quarters, lush and elegant as the rest of the Senate's visitor's area. My stomach twisted as we approached her room and I took several deep breaths to calm my growing agitation; out of the corner of my eye I noticed Stonewall glancing at me with curiosity, but I ignored him. All of my focus was on the figure whose back was turned to us as she spoke to a man who, I guessed by the style of clothing he wore, was a security officer of some kind. Theirry stopped before her and announced my name.

Her face was exactly as I'd seen in the holovids, but all I could think of was Obi-wan, and I was grateful that she could not sense my emotions as I could hers, which, at the moment were tense and not a little annoyed. She came over to us, hands clasped before her. "Greetings, Jedi Halcyon," she said, her voice richer than I'd imagined, though there was no warmth to her tone. "It's a pleasure to meet you, though I wish it were under happier circumstances." She gestured to the man with whom she'd been conferring. "This is my Security Chief, Odo." Like most Mandalorians, the Duchess included, he was tall and slender, with a head of nearly white-blonde hair that he kept neatly braided.

I nodded to the man, who looked at me as though I were something that he had stepped in on the street. "We were assured that you were not bringing any soldiers," he said by way of greeting.

"My instructions were to bring one trooper to assist me in the task of protecting the Duchess," I replied, my voice even. "This troop is one of my trusted associates and is under my orders. I assumed that you were aware of the arrangement."

Odo shook his head. "We agreed to one Jedi, undercover-which you are not, I see."

Despite the hostility that was radiating from the Mandalorians, it was my job to keep the peace, but I could not resist the thought of trying to get out of the thing altogether. I turned to the Duchess. "Madame, I have my orders if you or any member of your staff would like to verify them. I was under the impression that time was not something you had in abundance; however, if you'd like me to leave, I shall do so. I'm certain that Master Windu would be happy to negotiate these terms further." Have fun with that, Mace.

Satine frowned and made a small motion of dismissal, waiting until Theirry, Odo and her guards had left the room before she spoke to me. "It is no secret that I have little desire to be trailed by any member of your Order at the present time, but it is also true that there are too many questions that have yet to be answered. Truthfully, I do not think that Master Windu would make any more concessions in this matter, though Odo was not pleased with the resolution."

My hands folded before me. "Then we should not delay further. I was told that you would provide proper attire for myself and my troop?"

"Yes," she replied, nodding to two sets of clothing that were hanging in the door to the bedchamber. "The Council gave us your size. Hopefully you will find them satisfactory, with a more extensive wardrobe once we return home. I shall be ready to go as soon as you are both dressed."

Stonewall retrieved our garments and there was a brief moment of confusion (mine), as to where we could change, but Satine directed me to her bedroom and Stone to the servant's room just beyond. The garment was a bit decorative for my taste, but at least it was in an attractive amethyst tone that was a welcome change from the prevalent neutral colors that the Jedi favored; in typical Mandalorian fashion the outfit consisted of black leggings, tall boots and an embroidered, amethyst colored tunic that hit my knees with a belted waist, my lightsaber hidden beneath the folds. When I emerged, the Duchess was holding a cup of tea and looking out the window to the impressive skyline; as she heard me enter the room, she turned.

"Everything is to your liking?"

I nodded. "Very much, thank you. Duchess, have you given any thought to the official role that Stone and myself will be playing while we are in Sundari?"

"I was told that you are an adept musician," she replied. "Perhaps something along those lines."

"My thoughts exactly," I said. "I brought my dulcimer and a few simple instruments...Of course, Stone hasn't had the same training as I have, but he's learning." As if on cue my trooper emerged, looking entirely uncomfortable in his disguise: a hooded, dark-blue robe that fell over a tunic and pants of a similar, though lighter hue. There was no armor to speak of, though I noticed he'd kept his belt. "How is it, Stone?"

He pulled the hood over his face and regarded me, and I could feel his discomfort with the unfamiliar garb. "It's a bit...flowy, General."

"Kalinda," I corrected. "For the love of all that is holy, Stone, Kalinda. Or Kali, or 'you there', whatever you like...anything but 'General.'"

"Right...Kali," he said with a wince. "Sorry."

"We'll work out the details of our story on the way," I said, turning back to the Duchess. "Perhaps I can be a hired entertainer or something..." My voice trailed off at her expression. She looked, well, to put it bluntly, dumbstruck; her eyes were fixed on me as if I'd sprouted a second head and it took all of my control to meet her gaze with calm assurance. "Duchess? Will that work?"

She blinked once, then seemed to come out of whatever had caught her attention so raptly. "Yes. Yes, we'll discuss it on the journey. Now, if you will excuse me, I must attend to a private matter. Thierry will show you to the ship." With a push of a button on her comm, she called her steward, who ushered us out of the room and back to the landing pad where we were to wait. He seemed ambivalent about leaving us alone until I assured him that we were more than capable of waiting without causing any trouble.

As the steward left us, Stonewall turned to me, his face shadowed by the cloak. "Was it just me, or are they not pleased to have us along?"

I gave a deep sigh. "No, you're right. But I at least thought that the Duchess was amenable to our presence...at least she was until..." I trailed off, my mind going back to our conversation.

"Kalinda? What is it?"

"My name," I whispered. "You said my name...my nickname."

He shifted uncomfortably. "Is this another joke? You told me-"

"No, I know," I said as I shook my head. Now it makes sense! Obi-wan must have mentioned me only by my nickname; she must not have put it together until Stone called me 'Kali' in front of her. Fantastic. I had hoped that our "shared" history would not come up, but it seemed that was not a possibility any more-if indeed it ever was. "I don't think the Mandalorians are too pleased that the Republic is involved with any part of their business, Stone," I said, looking back at him. "Just grin and bear it, okay?"

"Affirmative...Kali," he said with a grin.

Laughing, I shook my head. "I think I've created a monster."