The domed cities of Mandalore were in an uproar. The warrior blood still ran strong within them, even in the civilians who, until the uprising, had chosen to live peaceful, quiet lives. Sides were chosen, some joined with the Mandalorian army, fighting for the peace the Kryes had provided them, most swelling with anger at the news that their previous leader, Korkyie, had been murdered and the rumours that his eldest and heir had been captured, had not sat well. Others joined the usurpers, casting off the chains the Kryes had forced upon them, bringing to the light armour and weapons of old. Once rival clans joined forces for a common goal- the right to shed the blood of those who had wronged them, even if that mainly meant each other.

Others, a small portion, drew out their old weapons, but not in the name of Old or New Mandalore, but for their homes. Sheltering the elderly and young, they fought off anyone, irrespective of side, that threatened the lives of their family. So frantic were the Mandalorians, keeping their bloodshot eyes on each other, none even looked up at the sky, at the damage that could doom them all.

However, one single girl looked up. She was too young to be at war, and yet there she was, donning her Mandalorian armour and wearing the clan Wren's colours with the pride of an elder. She'd felled more warriors then years she had lived and, undoubtedly, by the time this war ended, far more would join her ledger. Nameless men and women, from every aspect of life. On the battlefield-status, gender, age, it mattered nought. If one possessed the tools to survive, then only that person could be deemed a true winner.

It had been a hard battle for Ursa Wren, her brother had fallen barely an hour before but, in the havoc of blaster fire and explosions, she'd had no time to send him off, for such luxuries had no right on a battlefield, unless she too wished to join him. Catching her breath amongst the rubble of a collapsed shop that may have once sold baked goods, or maybe clothes, she looked up at the sky. A new day was dawning, the sky was stained a deep crimson, the first of many her brother would not see and, as she whispered a brief goodbye, a single tear ran down her cheek. He had died a warrior's death, a honourable death and yet it had done little to ease her pain. As her eyes focused on something the others below were too preoccupied to notice, and, what difference did it make that she now knew of the damage? In the middle of a war, where all is broken, who could spare the time to fix? But her eyes followed the cracks within the dome that had protected the Mandalorians since the end of the old wars, some, had never even lived outside their protection but, even as she sat there, catching her breath, she could see the cracks spread with each ground-shaking explosion.

She was the first to notice the damage but she would not be the last for, far in the horizon, still several hours away, a storm was brewing and their cities would not be able to protect the Mandalorians this time.


Several days had passed since Obi-Wan and Satine had climbed out of that ancient well. Never had they basked in Mandalore's sun so thankfully, or tasted its air so sweetly. It was day time when the pair had emerged, Obi-Wan struggling to keep his grip on the rope and Satine, once again clung to his neck, unable to do much else. He thrust forwards with the Force, pushing away the stone seal that blocked the well mouth and the two collapsed on the sandy ground, not caring that the irritating granules were getting everywhere. They savoured their new found freedom, though the darkness of the caves would still haunt them, for a few moments it was forgotten, as was the fear of being discovered by rebels flying overhead.

The village they had stumbled upon was nothing more than a ruined husk of its old self. Almost buried within the sand that had berated it over the years, the old stone buildings were eroded to an almost abnormal smoothness. Whole walls and buildings crumbled, their remains almost indistinguishable to the same sand that had consumed them. Lichens spread across what remained, the ancient fungus the only living thing in this desolate remains.

Obi-Wan and Satine spent the few days they resided in the unnamed village in one of the only buildings whose roof provided some form of cover. It had once been a two storey building, but the sands had risen to almost fully engulf the lower floor. They had even tried to canvass the area but it had been many years since any form of sentient being had visited the area and most that had been left behind had perished with time. However, although the village could provide little more then shelter, thanks to their discovery in the tunnels they now had water and, although Satine despised their taste, the ration cubes Obi-Wan shared sated their hunger.

One thing that had not changed since leaving the tunnels was that the Duchess and Padawan were still hopelessly lost. Apart from having no indication of how long they had wondered the tunnels, they had no inkling of the direction they had traveled either. Thanks to the rising and setting of the sun they could determine the basic directions but it was only through identifying the stars did they have any idea of where they could go.

The old maps of Satine's grandfather would have been pricelessly useful in that situation but, unfortunately, like much of their belongings, they had been left at the camp. However Satine, similarly to how she had done whilst mapping the tunnels, worked tirelessly to map the stars during the night, using the changing position of the constellations, and those that did not move, to get their bearings and of which direction to go.

However Satine's confidence had faltered, their discovery of the aquifer had proven that her knowledge was flawed, that her planet was very different from her studies. She had also become painfully aware of how useless she was in situations where her life was at risk, it actually seemed, at times, she caused more trouble than was necessary. She often would grudgingly think, if it weren't for Obi-Wan, she would have perished long ago.

"Don't beat yourself up about it." Obi-Wan called, leaning his back against a wall of a half ruined house. They had found an old stone basin amongst the remains and, although two of the four walls had collapsed, it had proven a suitable place to bathe and wash their clothing.

"Don't you dare look." Satine called, as she used the shirt she'd worn under her jacket to dab away the dried blood from her face, along with the dirt and grime that had built up across her body. The water was cold and it stung each time it came in contact with an injury she had no idea she'd acquired, and yet it was refreshing to actually feel clean once again. She ran her hands through her wet hair, struggling to remove the tangles that had grown into it.

"I always wonder why women take so long to prepare themselves." Obi-Wan casually commented, looking up at the sky, keeping watch as he spoke. "The female Padawans and even the masters back at the temple take impressively long at times."

"I assure you, Obi-Wan, you took just as long to get ready this morning." She countered, remembering her agonising wait in the hot morning sun.

"I also had more layers of clothing to clean and dry." He reminded her, tugging at the cream coloured Padawan tunic he wore. Although he'd removed much of the grime, the stains had stubbornly remained, it would never return to its original colour and he could do little about the damage it had acquired, he was not good at needlework. "You are very welcome, by the way."

Satine rolled her eyes as, finally satisfied with her state of cleanliness, she rinsed out her shirt and set it to dry over the wall with her guard's uniform and turned her attention to the garments Obi-Wan had offered her.

"I feel foolish." She complained some time later as she emerged wearing the dark brown cloak Obi-Wan usually wore but had recently cleaned. It was obviously a few sizes too big, its sleeves extending past Satine's arms and it was so broad she could comfortably wrap it around her body, which she tied, several times, around her waist to keep in place.

"You wear the uniform of a Padawan well." Obi-Wan observed, there was no malice in his voice but Satine still felt self conscious as she tugged at the edge of the cloak, although it reached her calves she still felt exposed.

"Very funny." She muttered as she marched towards Obi-Wan, her boots sinking into the sand. "But it does feel very good to be somewhat clean again."

"Trust me, the smell was getting so bad it was competing with the nydak." Joked Obi-Wan, earning him a playful yet annoyed nudge from Satine.

"You were no bouquet of flowers yourself." The Duchess countered quickly, causing the Padawan to laugh.

"Well, the two of us should savour this while we can, tonight we leave this place to find the camp."

"Provided my calculations are right." Satine chided herself.

"Well I trust them." Rebuked Obi-Wan, giving her a confident smile which made her feel a little better and wondered why he didn't do so more. He had a rather charming smile which he covered well with his brooding and serious expression. She then looked up at the sky, although it was still warm, a thick layering of clouds had begun to suffocate the blue, coating every inch with its pale grey blanket.

"I just hope we make it there before the rains start."

"So you keep saying." Observed Obi-Wan, also looking at the sky, he half wondered if it was because of the brewing storm that they hadn't seen so many ships scouting the area. "How bad can a Mandalorian storm be?"

"There is a reason why our cities have domes." She ominously said as a cool breeze gently swept past her, ruffling her wet hair and causing her to pull the cloak tighter around her. "But as long as the winds remain we should be safe for a few more days."


"Well it would seem your directions were spot on, Duchess." Obi-Wan whispered, pressing his chest against the warm sand, struggling to keep his eyes open as the winds continued to pick up. The sky had now become coated in an impenetrable layer of black cloud, it seems the rains Satine had warned him could start the moment the wind calmed. "Pity it seems the Usurpers found this place too."

Satine bit her lip as she, too, peered over the sand dune's peak observing with contempt the two individuals who were standing between them and the opening to their old camp. "Seems they brought some bounty hunters into the mix." She sighed, as she recognised alien forms beneath armour, lanky in stature with pale green skin. The two bounty hunters worked with little regard to the noise they made, one was scanning the area with a machine, most likely looking for the remnants of tracks or footprints. The other was looking down at where their camp had once been hidden, shaking his head. Even from where they hid Obi-Wan could see that the crevice they had initially used to climb into the camp had totally collapsed leaving in its place a massive crater. The chances of anyone surviving the collapse were painfully slim.

The same thought seemed to have crossed Satine's mind as she looked at Obi-Wan with a creased brow.

"What should we do?" She murmured, looking towards him for answers, a part of her desperately wanted to go check for her sister, even if she were just a body but, the more reasonable part of her was urging her to get away from the camp and bounty hunters, to look for shelter while they still could, if they got too close to the camp they'd be exposed.

The Padawan was trying to think strategically. He had not anticipated that the rebels would have called on Bounty Hunters to aid them, most likely it was the same ploy Satine had used when she'd called the Jedi Council for aid, to anticipate the unexpected.

"My master made it very clear that I was to take you to our ship and get you off the planet,"Obi-Wan explained.

"Well, we are here now." Satine countered, rolling her eyes at the Padawan, always such a stickler for rules and orders.

"That is also true." Obi-Wan agreed, "And I believe it would be folly not to learn what we can while we are here, that is, if we have time?"

Satine looked up at the sky, the wind was still blowing, which was in their favour.

"I'd say we have time if the wind stays as is." She explained, making the calculation. "But we must find shelter before that though, the winds are fickle and could vanish in an instant."

"Is the virus really that bad?"

Satine had explained the situation back at the village. During the old Wars one of the Madolorian clans of the time had attempted to utilise a bioweapon, something they could release with minimal damage and maximal casualties. However, when they released it into the environment, it had mutated and evolved, its devastating disease turning upon its creaters to become a scourge of this land. Originally an airborne pathogen it couldn't survive the hot temperatures on the surface but now it resided within the upper atmosphere, coming to the surface with the rain. It couldn't live on the surface for long, not even in a water body, however humanoids were highly susceptible and death was unavoidable within a few hours of contact.

"It is one of the 10 worse diseases to die from." She explained. "Imagine your own cells attacking themselves, each a tiny warrior dead-set on killing you."

"Great thing your ancestors created," Sarcastically said Obi-Wan. "Let's try not get killed then, shall we?"

"I thought that was our motto." Agreed Satine.

"Well it doesn't hurt to say it out-loud every now and again."

The pair crept silently around the dune, taking particular care of where the two bounty hunters were looking. They seemed to be two male Kyuzo, in garbs of white and broad brimmed hats, revealing only their pupil-less orange eyes as they continued to inspect the area. Each Kyuzo was armed with a long spear-like weapon and they were speaking as their machines continued to scan for something, but the strong winds drowned their words. Not too far from where the bounty hunters stood, a pair speeders were parked, their cream coloured plating reinforced by mismatching pieces of metal, a makeshift missile blaster was attached at the front of each one.

Obi-Wan carefully led the way around the dune, gesturing for Satine to stay low as they used the uneven sand to try and conceal their presence, walking towards the speeders, their bulky forms may be able to provide them with some more cover. However, as Obi-Wan's movement slowed he could see no way how they could get to the cave without being seen. Maybe if they stayed until nightfall they might have been able to sneak past but the Padawan was not eager to wait out the day with Mandolore's deadly rain showers in the forecast.

Satine tapped his shoulder, catching his attention as she pointed towards her ears, gesturing to him to try to listen. Obi-Wan could barely hear anything against the wind but Satine had her eyes closed, focusing on each word she could capture. Obi-Wan attempted to listen again, his eyes closing as he tried to block out the background noise of wind and sifting sands. He held his breath as he slowly began to make out the low voices of the tow Kyuzo.

"...Are still nothing." One was saying.

"We are wasting our time here." The other growled, as he frustratedly kicked the ground. "We should have questioned the hostages, better."

"Hostages!" Mouthed Satine, but Obi-Wan raised a hand to silence her, still struggling to listen.

"Any more of a beating and they would have told us anything to make us stop."

"I'm sure Bane got more information out of them."

"Oh stop your whining! If you want to team up with the great Cad Bane head back to Keldabe on your own."

"At least Cad Bane would appreciate my expertise! He'd know better that the duchess would have tried to escape off the planet by now! Scout the ports…"

"And I've been trying to get it through your thick head. Sundari is where she'd go! It's one of the only cities that the Pacifists still have! She'd think she's safe and sound over there."

"Obi-Wan." Satine hissed but the Padawan silenced her again.

From what he could understand from the conversation, this location had been compromised and hostages had been captured, then that would mean some of their people had survived.

Now the real question was, who? Even as he struggled to listen Obi-Wan couldn't sense any survivors in the cave below and the tunnels were out of the question from this distance.

Had Luna's group somehow survived the cave-in only to be captured by the rebels? Or had it been Qui-Gon's or Bo's groups? Emerging form the tunnels only to find the camp destroyed and the rebels waiting?

"Obi-Wan Kenobi!" Satine hissed even more instantly.

"What?!" He answered loudly, irritated.

"The wind's stopped." She said simply, her brief statement filling him with dread. If the winds had stopped, the rains would soon begin.

"We need to find shelter." Obi-Wan said frantically, looking around but, unless they were hoping to bury themselves in the sand there wasn't much to work with.

"We could try to get to the tunnels." Satine began but Obi-Wan quickly stopped her.

"The tunnels may have been blocked after last time, and we can't risk getting lost in them again."

"Okay then, what about your ship?" Satine prodded, her mind racing.

"It should still be hidden." Obi-Wan agreed. "But it's too far, we won't make it in time."

"Not if we steal one of those." Satine explained, pointing at speeders around the other side of the sand dune.

"You make it sound easy enough when I'm the one doing all the fighting." Obi-Wan hissed back.

"Are you two done over there?" The mocking voice of one of the Kyuzo brought their argument to an instant halt.

"No use being quiet now, we know you're behind that dune." The other Kyuzo called as Obi-Wan cautiously nodded his head at Satine and began to stand.

"We're sorry to interrupt… but we got a little lost." Obi-Wan said with a nervous smile, raising his hands to show he was unarmed.

"A little far to be lost don't you think, Kree?" The taller Kyoza commented, pointing his spear at Obi-Wan.

"No use hiding, we know there are two of you." Yelled Kree as he, alongside his partner, walked carefully towards the pair as Satine also rose out of her hiding place, arms raised.

"Lookie here, Thanus, I believe this is the little Duchess we were just talking about." Kree moved his spear away from Obi-Wan and towards Satine's chest. The other Kyuzo, Thanus, brought the small holloprojector that he wore around his wrist closer to his face as a small image of a much cleaner Satine appeared.

Thanus brought his spear under Satine's chin, forcing the duchess to lift her head as she glared at the pair who continued to compare her to the image.

"By the stars! A little wear and tear but they got the same highbred nose and pampered eyes- it must be her!"

"If you think I'Il let you take me to those fiends." She growled, causing the two Kyuzo to chuckle.

"What do you think you can do?" Thanus laughed, sneering as he brought his face closer to hers.

"It's not what I can do." Satine answered, her voice unwavering as she felt the point of his weapon pressing painfully against her chest. "It's what he can do."

And as if on cue Obi-Wan unhooked his lightsaber and ignited it, slicing Kree's weapon in two pieces, silently thankful he'd remembered how to repair his lightsaber after its embarrassing short circuit near the aquifer.

"Very dramatic entrance, thank you Duchess." Obi-Wan observed, taking his position between her and her assailants.

"Jedi." Hissed the two Kyoza, jumping back, Kree bringing out two blasters that had been hanging at his belt and pointed the weapons at him. Obi-Wan raised his lightsaber over his head defensively, ready to deflect.

"Padawan," he corrected, taking a step towards the pair, who took a step back, keeping their distance. "If I were a full Jedi, you wouldn't be standing."

"Oh? So we got ourselves a little apprentice? What harm can he do?" Thanis asked, regaining some confidence at learning that Obi-Wan was not a Jedi.

"Oh, want to find out?" And without further provocation Obi-Wan leaped forward, bringing his lightsaber down as Kree began shooting. He deflected the blasts with ease, aiming them back at their owners who danced on the spot to try and avoid the backfiring shots, the panic clear in their eyes. But Thanus lunged forward, his spear raised to cut Obi-Wan in half but the Kyuzo's weapon wasn't a match for the lightsaber, as it too got sliced in half.

Thanus swore rather colourfully, causing a snarky smile to spread across Obi-Wan's face, these two may have been bounty hunters but they didn't feel all that threatening. It felt good to practice his sword skills against something that didn't want to eat him.

"C'mon Obi-Wan!" Satine yelled from near one of the speeders, having taken the opportunity to acquire their escape vehicle while the Kyuzo had been preoccupied with him.

Obi-Wan couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, he wanted to fight the bounty hunters a little longer but he knew that the rains would start any moment now. So, lightsaber still in hand, he ran towards Satine as Kree and Thanus ran after him, sending shot after shot, some directed at him, some at Satine, who barely dodged them as she sat on the speeder and began to adjust the flight setting to her requirements.

"Can you fly this thing?" Obi-Wan yelled, as the berate of blaster shots increased, the Kyuzo not liking the fact one of their rides was being hijacked.

"I take it you can't?" Satine yelled, revving the engine to life. "Can you deflect their blasts while I drive?"

"Easy enough." Obi-Wan said, seating himself behind Satine as the duchess, not wanting the bounty hunters to step in her way, pressed the gas pedal as hard as she could and began to speed away.

"Do you know where we have to go!?" Yelled Obi-Wan, holding on tightly with one hand around her waist, his lightsaber still in the other.

"You focus on keeping our pursuers off us." She yelled over the wind, her hair flying wildly as she struggled slightly with the steering. "Who do you think gave you the coordinates of where to land?"

Her father had had an almost childish obsession with regard to vehicles and Satine had spent many hours in his tutelage of how they functioned. Although the topic had somewhat bored her, she had savoured the time for it was on those rare occasions that they could speak as father and daughter and not duke and marquee. Never, however, had she suspected her father had ever expected her to use what he'd taught her in actual practice.

Behind them the Kyuzo were chasing them with a visible fury, their green faces acquiring an orange tinge as the one driving, Thanus, was taking aim with the launcher attached to the front of the vehicle as Kree continued to berate them with blaster shots.

Satine swerved savagely to the side, trying to avoid something that lay in their path. Two bodies, wearing the uniform of the Duchess's guard, were lying face down in a blanket of sand. Creatures of the sand had already begun to eat at their flash, small worms crawling over their skin. These must have been the sentries Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon had encountered the day they had arrived, the dried blood in the sand told them little of who were the culprits but did not paint a pretty picture of what had unfolded.

"Swerve!" Obi-Wan yelled as he saw the light of the explosion as the missile left the weapon. Satine moved to the side in a flurry of sand, as the ground behind them exploded in a wave of heat. Obi-Wan bit his lip as he deactivated his lightsaber and held on to Satine. He didn't like being useless but, against a missile launcher like that, it would be better if they focus on steering out of its way, then trying foolishly to block it.

"Osik!" Cursed Satine, most likely the first time Obi-Wan had ever heard such a term leave her lips. The Padawan looked past Satine, trying to see what had caused her to say something so vulgar, he could barely make out his ship, although half buried, it seemed to still be in one piece. But he did see it as much as feel it, a single drop of rain hit his forehead, trickling down the side of his cheek innocently as it carried within it a virus that could kill them.

The rains had finally begun

The bounty hunters did not seem to have any qualms about rain, it flew into their faces as they drove, shooting at Satine and Obi-Wan without rest.

Satine was internally freaking out, the rain was really pouring now, soaking through her clothes until she was practically bathing in the virus infected water. She gulped as she tried to keep herself calm.

Was that an inch across her arm?

She had read about the virus, the Scourge they called it. One could become contaminated by coming in contact with freshly fallen rain containing the virus, it entered though the skin. Within a few minutes of infection clinical signs could show and no one was known to have survived more than a day after contamination.

An irritating itch kept spreading across her arms but Satine tried to shake it of. Pseudo Symptoms she told herself, even if she and Obi-Wan were infected that was no excuse for her to lose her head. They had to escape the bounty hunters and reach the ship, the virus wouldn't kill them before that.

Though there was no cure for the virus.

"Eyes on the road!" Yelled Obi-Wan as rain ran down his face, as Satine swiveled roughly to one side.

"Where is your ship!" Spat Satine as the rain flew into her mouth, causing her to shudder.

"It should be around...dodge!" Obi-Wan yelled as he saw one of the bounty hunters sent a missile their way. Obi-Wan's sudden yell caused Satine to turn more aggressively then she had intended, she dodged the missile, which crashed into the ground beside them, showering them in a barrage of sand, water and a muddy hybrid. The turn however had been too sharp for the speeder, it spiralled out of control. No matter how hard she tugged on the wheel or pressed the break she could not regain control and, as the vehicle tilted so badly the riders were almost perpendicular to the ground Satine realised the only way they would escape this would be either pinned under the vehicle or thrown a dangerous distance away, given the speed they were traveling at.

Obi-Wan must have realised what was happening as he yelled into her ear. "Let go!"

Satine didn't question his words as she released her grip on the steering feeling both his hands tighten themselves around her waist as he kicked against that leg rest, sending both Satine and himself spiralling into the sand at a neck break speed.

The coarse sand scraped across her bare skin, causing each new cut to burn instantly but somehow, as she struggled to her feet, Obi-Wan gripping her wrist to force her disorientated self to run, no bones had been broken. Had that been a trick of the Force?

The bounty hunters however had had a disagreement, Thanus had been aiming a shot at Satine and Obi-Wan as they ran across the desert, while Kree forced the steering to sweere to the side, trying to dodge the now riderless speeder that was still spiralling. The two Kyuzo jumped with barely enough time to escape the explosion. Unfortunately they seemed to be relatively intact, though both had lost their hats in the fall and they were already pursuing the duchess and Padawan, blasters pointed at them as they tried to aim.

"There it is!" Obi-Wan yelled, relief putting more speed in his step. By some miracle Qui-Gon's ship was still where they had landed, the sand coloured cloak having acquired a layer of sand which was now pooling with water. "We are almost there!"

However the Kyuzo had also seen the ship and, fearing their bounty was going to escape they gave up on aiming and just decided to shoot.

Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber deflecting the blasts, the rain causing steam to surround the sapphire blade. The Padawan continued to run as he did this, deflecting each shot as they made their way to the small ship.

Obi-Wan practically crashed into the haul door, frantically tapping the keypad to input the code. Never had the Padawan been so happy to hear the metal screeching of the old spaceship's door, he almost ran in before he realised that Satine had made no move and was just staring, fixated, at a point behind them. It was also then, through the pounding sound of raining hitting the ship, that he realised that the blaster fire had stopped.

Obi-Wan turned, unable to even anticipate the sight that awaited him. The Kyuzo were on the ground, their arms pulling them forwards, reaching out for help. From the corner of their eyes tears of blood mixed with the still pouring rain, one, Kree, was spasming beside his brother, a bloody froth filling his mouth. Thanus continued to pull against the sand, but his motions began to become more ragged, spasms interrupting his motions. He opened his mouth to say something, to ask for help? To curse the duchess? But all that escaped his mouth was froth, gagging his words.

Obi-Wan gently grabbed Satine's elbow, forcing himself to look away from the macabre sight that was unfolding before them. The duchess followed and yet found herself unable to look away from the bounty hunters, their bodies finally going rigid and then limp as the last of their life was washed away with the same rain that had brought their death.

The same rain that covered Obi-Wan and herself.

And that's another chapter poster! Hope you enjoyed the chapter and feel free to drop a comment, next update comes out Tuesday :D