When Satine began feeling well enough to start planning an escape, her belly had become too large not to restrict her movements, forcing her to rule out running. Another problem she had to contend with was her nutrition. Although now able to eat small bites of food here and there, full meals were still out of the question by a long shot, so artificial formulas were something she had to have available at all times, complicating the logistics of her plan.
She was grooming the servicing droids to act in her favor, but could never rush things or skip steps, for Dooku was very much vigilant and receptive. Speaking of whom, she was seeing less and less of him as of late. She could tell the old Count was troubled, haunted, even. Satine had to admit their interactions had turned out to be unexpectedly soft, a lot of the prisoner-captive tension dissipating behind Satine's gratitude and Dooku's concern. Sure, their intentions weren't exactly aligned, yet Satine couldn't help but take the gesture of saving her own life and "caring" for Obi-Wan as a good one, despite everything. She knew that he would never, ever release her willingly, she wasn't that naive.
Every week, Dooku would descend to her quarters so that they could have a talk.
The "talks" mostly consisted of him trying to buy her trust and support, with fewer and fewer forceful attempts at mind-tricking her. Perhaps he had understood those tactics would bring him nowhere with her. Or perhaps he was simply allowing himself a semi-normal interaction with a physically weakened woman whom he would regard as a sort of daughter-in-law, as lonely as he was. He used to be a Jedi, after all, a life rich of companionship had been the norm for him, for many years. He had enjoyed closeness with his master first and apprentice later, with Jocasta Nu, with all the people from his past life. Now all he had left were droids, and in the few cases when he wasn't surrounded by machines, his interactions were always dominated by distrust and stressful power games.
Satine had soon come to realize that the so called Sith was very much alone in his selfish, twisted quest for destabilizing the galaxy. She had come to realize that he wasn't driven by greed as much as he was by fear, and this intrigued her in an uneasy kind of manner. Dooku had gradually let a part of his guard down, thinking that by doing so she'd feel comfortable enough to reveal information to him or cooperate, but in reality, all he was doing was disclosing himself to her.
He tried to terrorize her, depicting gloomy prospects for Mandalore if she chose not to offer her help with the conversion of Obi-Wan. By doing that, and much else, he gave away details of Sidious' plans that never in his imagination he would have thought possible revealing.
Satine was slowly starting to understand the deeper workings of a war she had never found necessary to begin with. And the more she understood, the more her fear grew. Her subconscious self opposing what her brain regularly processed from those conversations, Satine nonetheless had reached one terrible conclusion: no one was safe, starting from the Jedi themselves.
One day, seven months after her arrival on Serenno, Satine found Dooku looking darker than usual when the time came for their periodic rendez vous.
"I hope Your Highness has made up her mind. I am afraid there isn't much I can do for you, or for your heir, if you don't join my cause"
"I thought by now you'd understand that my moral high ground doesn't allow me to embrace your cause" Satine had gained enough confidence to speak her mind, although maintaining her stature by keeping a distance. She was tranquil.
Dooku bitterly chuckled.
"The words of an ideologue...pity there's no time for such things in this galaxy. You don't understand. It is not me who's causing all this. If I won't get Kenobi to join my ranks...mark my words: we're doomed. He is doomed. Your child is, too, and greater forces will strip it away from you before you realize it. You are doomed, for what will become of the Republic will see you as its enemy, something dangerous to annihilate, and you will have lost all your support from Mandalore. You already have. They are out there to get you, the sacrifical trophy they all need to attain...catharsis, in their eyes. And I am doomed, too. But you might just give us one chance at changing our fates, Duchess, if only you change your mind"
Satine had gotten used to Dooku's peculiar eloquence, but this time, the amount of information she was processing out of what felt more like the unavoidable outcome of the political situation they were in than simple threats, was daunting.
"What will become of the Republic? What do you mean by that?" Satine narrowed her eyes
"I will tell you another time" and with that he left, under Satine's bewildered expression.
Only thing was, another time never came.