They were safely aboard the transport. The identification Dex provided had them traveling as refugees; husband and wife. He settled Amira in a quiet corner and went to get some food.

He observed her closely. She picked at her food, "You must be a little hungry. Did they feed you in there?" She pushed the plate away, "No." He leaned forward and gently grasped her hand, "What happened; can you tell me?"

She looked down at her hand in his and shook her head slowly, "No." Then she withdrew her hand. He was worried by what he saw in her eyes. She turned away from him, closed her eyes and curled up in the corner. Still several hours from reaching Alderaan; he leaned his head back against the wall wearily and closed his own eyes.

He was awakened a short while later. Amira was moaning in her sleep as if she were experiencing pain. He reached for her pulling her into his arms and tried to comfort her, "Shhh." She writhed and moaned. He pulled her tighter, "I have you. You are safe."

Gradually her breathing became even and she seemed to settle down and sleep quietly. He removed his cloak and covered her with it then lay down beside her and kept her close against him.

As he held her he wondered what she had suffered through; what had caused the look he'd seen in her eyes and why she would not talk to him about it. Something terrible had happened.

She whimpered again and squirmed against him. Needing to know what she was suffering; he tried to sense her thoughts. They were amazingly vivid to him. He knew it was invading her privacy, but he had to know.

Vadar was with her. He was questioning her. She choked and gasped for air. He crushed her against the wall of her cell and grilled her, "I want to know who you were communicating with. You sent your thoughts to someone, a Jedi."

Obi-Wan's heart pounded in his chest as he witnessed her torture at the hands of his former apprentice. Sadness and guilt flooded him. He felt her struggle as Vadar probed her mind. He felt her suffering.

Despite everything Vadar did to her she did not betray her secrets. Luke, Leia and Obi-Wan stayed locked away; out of Vadar's reach no matter how hard he probed her mind all the while choking the life out of her.

This continued for sometime. Amira's body was rigid against him. He didn't want to see anymore, but he continued, unable to withdraw from images in her mind. What he sensed next made his blood run cold in his veins.

Darth Sidious was with her; trying to turn her, preying on her fledgling Jedi abilities. She remained strong and defiant. She reminded him she was no Jedi, she told him to just kill her. When she showed no sign of breaking Sidious shot bolts of energy from his hands into her body.

Obi-Wan tensed, his arms circled her tighter. He wanted to protect her from the onslaught. Shield her body with his own though he knew full well he could not shield her from the memory.

Surprisingly Vadar stopped the attack; he convinced the Emperor that she might know where Obi-Wan could be found. Sidious agreed but ordered her to be executed as soon as Vadar had what he wanted.

The images gradually faded and he ended the connection. Sadly, he now had an idea what she had endured over the last four months. When he opened his eyes Amira was awake staring at him. Tears were fresh on her face. He gently wiped them away, "I am so sorry for what you suffered. Forgive me." His own eyes betrayed the glistening of unshed tears.

Back on Tatooine she had felt pain like this from him. She could not let him believe he was responsible. There was clarity now. She began to emerge from the fog that surrounded her brain. She reached up and touched his face her fingers traced a path from his temple to his chin. Her voice was barely a whisper, "Not your fault."

It was all too much. If he had only killed Anakin, she would never have suffered this way. His throat constricted with the urge to cry. He pulled her deeper into his arms burying his face between her neck and shoulder. He whispered hoarsely into her hair, "On Mustufar…I should have ended it."

She sobbed into his chest, "Not your fault; what happened, wasn't your fault." He held her tightly as she cried; his own tears falling silently from his eyes. With their emotion spent, in the silence of the darkened ship with only the sound of the engines to lull them, they slept.