As soon as his master was out of sight, Obi-Wan pressed Satine up against the wall of the cave, ignoring her feeble cries of protest. Their lips met in a rush, pent up desire from the past few days rushing forward as they finally were reunited. Qui-Gon had become suspicious, and seemed to be always underfoot.

But they were alone now. Qui-Gon was venturing out to the nearest village in an effort to replenish their dwindling supplies, and wouldn't be back until the next morning. It would only take him a few hours to make the trek, but he always took a long, varied route back to discourage the Death Watch from finding their location. Thankfully, this also gave them time to slake their ever raging lust, if only for a short time.

Satine pressed against him, slender body fitting against his perfectly. Even though he felt as if something was off, the unabating need clouded his mind until all he could think about was being with her again. He tugged impatiently at her tunic, wanting, needing it to be gone. But she batted his hands away, slipping out of his grasp and laughing as she ran out into the night air.

He waited only a minute before following her, but the sense of something being wrong was stronger now. The Force was elusive, hanging just beyond his reach, and suddenly, his legs felt as heavy as iron. It was rapidly growing dark, Satine's lithe form rapidly fading.

Obi-Wan called to her, wanting to warn her that something, something was wrong, but she never looked back, continuing to run towards an unfamiliar horizon. He slogged after her, yelling her name until his voice was hoarse. It wasn't until she disappeared over a rise that he finally seemed to break free, and he ran after her recklessly, realizing too late that the rise was actually a cliff.

When he landed-miraculously, on his feet-, he felt an eerie sense of deja vu. Gone was the forest and Satine. In front of him was the horrifyingly familiar plasma doors. Already, he could see the creature fighting his master. He knew every turn, every move, every clash of red upon green seared into his brain.

And the end was coming soon.

As always, he strained against the plasma doors, trying to command them to open with the Force. He could already see the drops of sweat on Qui-Gon's brow, the labored breathing, the delayed responses.

And all at once, it was over.

The doors opened too late, only allowing him to catch his master as he fell. The zabrak disappeared, leaving him with nothing but his anger, terror, and fear.

But this time, his master didn't die in his arms. He didn't whisper the familiar last words that had dictated his life for the past ten years. Instead, Obi-Wan could only watch in horror as the face of his master turn into that of the only woman he'd ever truly loved. The gaping hole was still in her abdomen, the same as it had been with his master, put there by the same creature that he had failed to stop before.

Her voice was thin, her breathing labored as she raised a hand to touch his cheek.

"Remember, my dear Obi-Wan. I've always loved you."

He could see the life rapidly fading in her eyes, the pain that would shortly be no more.

"I always will."


He woke with a start, bathed in a cold sweat. Beside him, Satine mumbled something in her sleep, turning over.

It had been a dream.

Only a dream.

He let out a shaky breath. They were on the Coronet, on their way to Coruscant. She was safe. Maul was long dead, and senator Merrick was no longer a threat. The whole thing was nothing more than a dream.

Always in motion, the future is.

Heart still beating erratically, he lay back down, forcing himself to calm down. He hadn't dreamt of Qui-Gon's death in years, and never of Satine's. Though it was likely just an after affect of the entire mission, he couldn't ignore it. The message was clear, and he knew better than to ignore it.

He was becoming too invested, and he'd learned long ago that becoming invested was always his downfall. It could be no coincidence that this dream-Anakin would have called it a vision-surfaced the same day that he'd finally given into temptation. The Force was warning him, and he would be a fool not to listen.

Sighing, he pressed a soft kiss to Satine's head. "I'm sorry, love."


The next morning, Duchess Kryze woke to an empty bed and the instinctual knowledge that she would forever be alone.