Obi-Wan left Ayame in the medical room and walked back to the cockpit. The captain had just said that the hyper drive was leaking.


"We need to land somewhere to refuel and repair the ship," Qui-Gon said to himself. Obi-Wan sat down at a computer and searched the nearby planets for a safe one. Then, a desert planet popped up on the screen. It was perfect.


"Here Master; Tatooine. It's small, out of the way…the Trade Federation has no presence there," he said, pointing to the screen.

"How can you be sure?" Captain Panaka asked.

"Because it's controlled by the Hutts," Qui-Gon replied, reading the screen.

"You can't take her Royal Highness there! The Hutts are gangsters! If they discover her..." Panaka objected.

"It would be no different then if we landed on a planet controlled by the Federation. But the Hutts aren't looking for her, which gives us the advantage," Qui-Gon finished Panaka's sentence.

"Obi-Wan, you'd best check on Ayame. We'll need her skills to talk to the natives here."

"Yes Master," Obi-Wan said, and left the cockpit. When he got back to the medical room, Ayame was sitting up and meditating. He turned to walk back out, but she stopped him.

"Don't go...please," she said softly.

"I don't want to disturb you," Obi-Wan replied, turning back to the door.

"You're not disturbing me," Ayame replied to him, and opened her eyes. "Actually, knowing that you're here helps me." Then, she moved over on the bed and patted the space next to her. Obi-Wan sat down next to her. "I should probably thank you for helping me back there," she said after a moment. "I know what I did was stupid, but I was really worried that we wouldn't have a chance. So, I did what I could to help."

"Yes, but you didn't have to risk your life," Obi-Wan objected. Then, without thinking, he pulled her close and held her there. "I was afraid for you when I realized what you were doing," he said.

"I know. I could feel your fear. And you tried to stop me," Ayame said, looking at him.

"You were doing something that would take an enormous amount of power to do. You could have killed yourself," Obi-Wan replied.

"Yet, had you stopped me," she pointed out, "I probably would have died." Obi-Wan was silent. She was right. He looked deep into her eyes. The color of hazel was so strong and it seemed to sparkle. Ayame looked right back into Obi-Wan's blue eyes. They were the color of ice, but they were softer and more caring as he looked at her. Slowly, they got closer and closer to each other. Then, without warning, something happened that would change their lives forever.


They kissed.


In the back of both of their minds, something was screaming that they shouldn't do this. But both of them ignored those voices. However, they weren't the only ones who knew.


THE JEDI TEMPLE


Yoda was smiling. He could feel the emotions flowing from both of the young Padawans. He could even picture them in his mind. Then, Master Windu came in.


"What is it?" he asked the old Jedi.


"It seems that two of our Padawans...fallen in love with each other they have," Yoda replied.
"It's not young Kenobi and Ayame is it?" Windu asked, smiling himself. Yoda nodded. Both of them, along with the rest of the Council, knew that eventually those two would confess their feelings for each other. In fact, a member of the Council long gone had predicted that two young Jedi would fall in love, and together they would become the greatest Jedi ever, their power fueled by their love for one another. Now, that prophecy was coming true.


THE ROYAL STARSHIP


When Obi-Wan and Ayame pulled away from each other, they couldn't believe what they had just done. They both realized that they were in love with each other, but that was forbidden in the Jedi Order. Obi-Wan cleared his throat.


"Umm...Master Qui-Gon said that you are to go with him into Mos Eisley. He needs your language skills to communicate with the locals," he said, delivering his original message. Ayame nodded and started to get up. But Obi-Wan pulled her back down next to him. He was about to say something, but Ayame nodded.

"Don't worry, Obi-Wan. This will be our little secret," she said. He nodded and got up. He left first and went to examine the hyper drive, and Ayame went to change her clothes to head to the settlement. Turned out, they needed a new generator, and that only complicated things. So, Qui-Gon, Jar Jar, Ayame, and the little R2 unit, R2-D2, headed out to Mos Eisley. Panaka stopped them to send Padme with them at the request of the Queen. As they walked through the little spaceport, they decided to try a smaller dealer. As they walked into the small shop, a blue, winged creature, which Ayame recognized as a Toydarian, greeted them in the language of Tatooine.

"Good day to you," he said in his language. "What can I do for you?"

"I need parts for a J-Type 327 Nubian," Qui-Gon said in Galactic Basic.

"Ah yes...Nubian...we have lots of that," the Toydarian said in heavily accented Basic. Then, he yelled in the foreign language to something or someone in the back. What he was yelling at was a small boy, who looked no older than 9, who came running from the back. They had a short conversation and the Toydarian took Qui-Gon into the back. For a moment, Padme, Jar Jar, and Ayame stood there. Jar Jar started to explore the shop. Then, the little boy spoke up.

"Are you two angels?" he asked Ayame and Padme.

"What?" Padme responded, smiling.

"Angels. They're the most beautiful creatures in the universe. They live on the moons of Leago, I think," he said.

"You're a funny little boy. How do you know so much?" Ayame asked him.

"I listen to the deep space pilots who come in here," he replied. "I'm pilot you know. And someday, I'm going to fly out of this place."

"How long have you been here?" Padme said.
"Since I was very little. My mother and I were sold to Gaurdulla the Hutt, but she lost us betting on a podrace," he said. Ayame was shocked. Had that little boy just said that he and his mother were 'sold?'

"You're a slave?" Padme asked, shocked. The little boy frowned.

"I'm a person and my name is Anakin," he snapped


"I'm sorry," Padme apologized. "I've never been here; this is a strange place to me." Suddenly, Jar Jar made a noise and activated a Pod Pit droid. It started laughing as Jar Jar made several attempts to catch it. Then, the little boy piped up.

"Hit the nose!" he said. Jar Jar did, and the droid folded back up. As the girls started to talk to the little boy more, Qui-Gon walked through the shop. Ayame could tell that he wasn't happy.

"We're leaving," he said. As they walked out, Padme turned around
"I'm glad to have met you, Anakin," she said, smiling.

"I was glad to meet you too," they heard the boy say. As they walked briskly through the market place, Ayame heard a disturbance behind her. Jar Jar was on the ground being picked on by a Dug. Ayame sighed and started over. But, the little boy from before showed up. He started talking to the boy in the Tatooine language.

"Careful Sebulba, he's a big time outsider. I'd hate to see you broke before another podrace," Anakin said.

"Next time we race, boy, it will be your last. If you weren't a slave, I'd crush you now," the Dug said.

"It'd be a pity if you had to pay for me," Anakin said laughing. As the Dug went away, Anakin turned to Qui-Gon, who had followed you. "Hi," Anakin said.

"Hello there," Qui-Gon replied.
"You're friend here was about to be turned into orange goop. He picked a fight with a Dug; a particularly nasty Dug called Sebulba," he informed Qui-Gon.

"I think it would be better if you didn't draw attention to us," Qui-Gon said to Jar Jar. Then, he turned to Anakin.

"My thanks, my young friend," he said. As he walked away, Anakin started to follow the group, with Jar Jar complaining all the way that he didn't do anything. As they walked, Ayame spoke with Qui-Gon.

"Did you notice anything about that boy?" she asked him.

"If you mean the unnatural presence of the Force around him, then yes," he replied.

"What does it mean?" Ayame asked again.

"I'm not sure yet. I'll need a midi-cholorian count in his blood to be sure that he is indeed Jedi material. Being all the way out here, it would be hard to discover him," Qui-Gon responded. As they stopped at a small fruit stall, Ayame contacted Obi-Wan mentally.

Obi-Wan? she thought

Yes, my love? was the response. Ayame smiled.

We found something. Or, rather we have found someone, she said. It's a boy. The presence of the Force is unnaturally strong around him and we're not sure what it means.

Do you think that his midi-cholorian count is high? Obi-Wan asked.

It might be, but we'll need a blood sample to be sure, Ayame said. We're heading back, so I'll see you in a while.

Alright, I'll see you then, Ayame, Obi-Wan said.

I love you, she said.

And I you, he responded and she cut the link with a smile. She turned to Qui-Gon and winced as his Lightsaber came into view. It was hidden underneath a rough poncho that he was wearing.

"Oh, my bones are aching. Storm's coming up, Ani. You'd better get home quick," the old lady running the fruit stall. Anakin thanked her and turned to the group.

"Do you have shelter?" he asked.

"We'll head back to our ship," Qui-Gon said.

"Is it far?" Anakin asked again.

"It's on the outskirts," Padme said. Anakin shook his head.

"You'll never make it to the outskirts in time. Sandstorms are very, VERY dangerous. Come on, I'll take you to my place," he said.