On her way back to the ship, Ayame stopped just in sight of it. She could feel that dark presence again. It wasn't strong, but she could still feel it. Frightened, she ran the rest of the way onto the ship. There, waiting on the ramp, was Obi-Wan. He had not felt the presence, but he had felt her fear. Ayame ran into his waiting arms.

"I felt your fear, are you okay?" he asked her softly.

"I'm okay now," Ayame said, burying her face in his robe. They made their way to Ayame's room on the ship and sat on her bed.

"So, what's happened?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Remember that boy that we found? He can race pods. It's unlike anything that I have ever seen," Ayame replied. "Qui-Gon is going to try and get a blood sample from him. He'll contact us when he has it."

"Well, what do we do in the meantime?" Obi-Wan asked, moving closer to Ayame, who smiled.

"We're not to let the Queen send any transmissions. The Federation might be tracking us," she said. "But, I highly doubt that she would be that foolish. She has been ruling the Naboo with much wisdom for someone of her age."

"I meant us, silly," Obi-Wan said. Ayame giggled slightly and slipped her hand underneath his robe and around his waist. He did likewise and pulled her into a gentle kiss. Ayame absolutely melted into him. Slowly, as the kiss got more and more passionate, Obi-Wan lowered her onto her back and started to remove her jacket that she had over the rough-spun tunic she was wearing. She went for his robe. Only when he started to pull her tunic off did she stop.

"Obi-Wan stop," she whispered, pulling away from the kiss that they had just been in the entire time. Obi-Wan blushed and sat up. Ayame pulled her jacket back on and sat up. They looked at each other and smiled awkwardly.

"I'm sorry, Ayame. I don't know what came over me," Obi-Wan apologized. Ayame shook her head and smiled.

"We both got out of hand, so it's okay. Now, if you'll excuse me, I would like to change back into my normal clothes," she said. Obi-Wan nodded and left. As she changed, that presence came back to her. Frustrated, she finished dressing and sat down to locate the source. She gasped when she saw what it was. It was a black ship piloted by a Sith Lord. His face was tattooed in black and red and he had horns on his head. She quickly masked her presence as Master Yoda had taught her to do so that the Sith would not notice her presence there. To her despair, he was on Tatooine. There was no doubt in her mind that he was looking for the Queen. She jumped up and ran to the Queen's chambers, where the captain was. When she knocked on the door, a security guard answered.

"Ayame? What are you doing here?" the guard asked.

"I need to speak with Captain Panaka right away," she said.

"The Captain is meeting with the Queen right now, Ayame," the guard replied. Ayame turned on her heel and ran to the meeting room. When she burst in, she found herself looking at a hologram message from the chief advisor on Naboo.

"The death toll is catastrophic. I must bow to their wishes. You must contact me!" the transmission said before ending. Everyone was staring at her.

"Forgive me, your Majesty, but I must speak with you now," Ayame said, bowing. The Queen nodded for her to continue. "My Lady, I have been feeling a foreboding presence approaching for the past few hours now. It's been on and off, but even now, I can feel it. I've located the source of it, and it's not good. The source is a Sith Lord who is headed for Tatooine as we speak. So far, I've been able to mask our presence here, but I will not be able to do that for long. And, without those parts, we have no hope of getting anywhere except perhaps a planet within the area. I must insist that we not leave the ship on any circumstances until Qui-Gon and the others return. That should not be much longer." When she finished, she looked around at the general assembly. Obi-Wan was serious and nodded his agreement. Panaka looked at the Queen, who looked at Ayame.

"Can you be sure that he is headed here?" the Queen asked her. Ayame nodded.

"I've never been surer of anything, your Highness," she said. The Queen thought for a moment, and then nodded. Panaka nodded, and then spoke to a guard near the door.

"Seal off the ship," he ordered. The guard nodded and left.

"Oh, and about that transmission, do not answer whatever you do. The Federation could be trying to establish a connection trace. I know that it could be true, but we cannot take any chances right now. The people need you right now, more than ever your Majesty. It is of utmost importance that you survive. Do you understand where I am coming from?" Ayame asked the young queen. Amidala thought for a moment, then, with a sad look on her face, nodded without looking at the young Jedi. Ayame sadly smiled. "I'm sorry, your Highness, but there is no other way. I wish it were not so, but it is." She walked out of the room and went to sit in the cockpit. Minutes later, Obi-Wan came in.

"Are you alright?" he asked. Ayame nodded, but her expression gave it away. "You saw the same one, didn't you?" She nodded again. "Ayame, we need to find out how you keep getting these images. They can't keep plaguing you like this."

"You think I enjoy this?!" Ayame burst out, tears clouding her vision. "Do you think that for one minute I think that seeing his ugly face makes me happy?! I just…I…" and she broke down crying. Obi-Wan sat down next to her and pulled her close.

"It's okay, Ayame; it's okay. We're going to get Master Yoda to help you the minute we get back to Courescant, okay?" he whispered softly. Ayame nodded and smiled. Obi-Wan smiled back and gave her a kiss. Suddenly, the communicator buzzed. It was Qui-Gon.

"Obi-Wan, Ayame, are you there?" Obi-Wan pushed a button on the communicator.

"Yes, Master," he said.
"I need an analysis of this blood sample," Qui-Gon said. Ayame pushed a button that turned on the computer.
"I need a midi-cholorian count." They watched at the computer began to analyze the blood sample. Their eyes got wide as the reading sped up and off of the chart.


"The reading is off the chart," Ayame said with disbelief. "Over 20,000!"
"Even Master Yoda doesn't have a count that high," Obi-Wan said with equal disbelief.

"No Jedi has," Qui-Gon said.

"What does it mean?" the Padawans asked.

"I'm not sure," Qui-Gon replied, and ended the transmission. Ayame looked at Obi-Wan.

"This isn't good. First, my visions. Now, this boy with a midi-cholorian count higher than Master Yoda? This isn't going to end well," she said. Obi-Wan nodded and pulled her close to him.

"Still, no matter what, I'll always be there for you," he said.

"And I'll always be there for you," Ayame replied. The two of them looked at each other, and then Obi-Wan pulled Ayame into a searing kiss. If they had been standing, Ayame would have fallen. The kiss made her go weak at the knees. When they finally pulled apart, both were trying to catch their breath.

"I love you, Ayame," Obi-Wan said.

"I love you too, Obi-Wan," Ayame replied. Suddenly, the communicator buzzed again. Ayame answered it this time.
"Yes?"

"Ayame, Obi-Wan" said a familiar gravelly voice. Ayame and Obi-Wan froze in fear. It was Yoda.

"With all due respect, Master Yoda, this isn't a very good time," Ayame said.

"Interrupting your love life am I?" he asked. Ayame looked at Obi-Wan in fear.

"What are you talking about?" Ayame asked, trying to stay calm. They heard Yoda laugh on the other line.

"Need to hide that, you do not. Know about it, we do," he said. The two Padawans sighed and looked at each other with a bit of relief. But then, confusion set in.

"Master Yoda, how could you know about…you know…us?" Obi-Wan asked him.

"A prophecy made, there was," was the reply. "It said that two young Jedi…fall in love, they would. And because of their love for each other, very powerful they would become." There was silence. Ayame couldn't believe it.

There was a prophecy made about me and Obi-Wan?" she thought. She looked over at Obi-Wan. Judging from the look on his face, he was thinking the same thing. A few minutes later, they both realized that Yoda had ended the transmission. Obi-Wan looked at Ayame and smiled.

"Well, at least now we know that it's okay to feel like this…for us anyway," he said. Ayame smiled back and gave him a big hug. Obi-Wan held her there for a long time. Once he let go, he gave her a sly look. "What, no kiss?" he asked. Ayame giggled slightly and leaned forward. Obi-Wan met her in the middle and together, they shared a lovely kiss. When they pulled apart, Ayame looked at the little clock on the control board. It was late.

"I'd better get some sleep. I want to go back into town tomorrow for the podrace," she said, standing up. Obi-Wan stood up with her.


You're going to leave me so soon," he mock groaned as he pouted and gave her the big puppy eyes. She gave him a playful punch in the shoulder.

"I'll be back soon, I promise," she said. Then, she remembered that Sith you had seen. "Besides, I want to see if the Sith is here yet. I want to make sure that he doesn't find the Queen. If I can find him before he finds her, I can lead him off of her trail and she can escape." Obi-Wan pulled her close to him.

"Be careful, Ayame. He's dangerous and you know it. The last thing that I want is for something to happen to you at his hands," he said. Ayame just stood there in his arms for a few moments, then pulled away, kissed him once, bid him goodnight, and went to bed. All that was running through her mind was what was going to happen tomorrow and what could happen tomorrow. Either way, it was going to be an interesting day.