Lying flat on her back in her bunk, Lex daydreamed about the home she left behind on Jeotis.

Tossing up an old blue and red chance cube, as she watched it hover above her for a few moments, before catching it back in her hand.

You don't need Jedi Mind tricks to bend the galaxy to your will. Sometimes, the most complicated problems can be solved with a simple potion.

Can a potion even bring people back from the dead, mother?

Be patient, my stargazer. You're not ready for that spell yet. Let's start with the basics of saving a life first.

And mentally running through a checklist of every potion she'd ever mastered under her mother's teachings, Lex was determined to find that answer for Padmé.

The Sleeper potion, Common Healing potion, Gemini Twins Imposter potion, Starfire Love potion, Stem Regeneration potion, Neptune's Kiss Comatose Po...

Lex shot up from her bunk.

Neptune's Kiss...It's too risky to use before the babies are born, but if it works, it may give the senator enough time to change her mind.

Forgetting to return the chance cube back to its hiding spot in her belongings, she hurried out into the corridor.

It was after hours on base, and Q2 had likely gone down to the subterrestrial data archive, where he usually spent the night "working" as she slept.

But this couldn't wait until morning.

And with no better time than this to avoid people asking questions, Lex charged around the corner to the access doors of the data archive.

Until-

"You were the chosen one!"

Lex stopped walking.

Caught off guard by a deep hit of anguish in her chest that made her catch the wall next to her for support. Feeling as if she'd be crushed by the indescribable heartbreak that overwhelmed her senses.

"I have failed you, Anakin. I have failed you."

Lex took deeper breaths, her whole body burning as if it were literally on fire, drowning in a lake of magma as she was crushed under this tormenting grief she couldn't shut out.

But "it" refused to let her go this time. Not until "it" decided it was over.

"It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them. Bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness!"

"You were my brother, Anakin...I loved you."

Until at last, Lex opened her eyes to the bright overhead lights of the base corridor.

The excruciating pain of burning alive was gone.

But when she looked down at her hands, they weren't her hands anymore, but the remains of them.

Full thickness burns that had simmered down to her bone and the swollen bloody muscles of her palms. Blood and tissue leatherized under her raw muscle. Her skin curled up and flaking from the burns, charred black and ashen around the edges.

And the smell...that nauseating metallic and meaty combination of burning skin, muscle, hair, and bone.

There was nothing like it that made her so sick to her stomach.

And then it too was gone.

The smell.

Her blackened fingers.

In the blink of an eye, everything was in order again, from the soft touch of her fair skin to the blood ruby diamond of Jeotis on her left hand.

And the red-blue chance cube squeezed so tightly in her right hand, that the blood pulled from her knuckles.

Shaken and heart pounding, she leaned against the wall to pull herself back together.

"Why does this keep happening to me?" she whispered. "Why can't I make it stop anymore?"

Was it a vision...or an omen?

And that's when her eyes caught sight of what-or rather who-might be responsible for the intrusion.

Obi-Wan Kenobi came striding down the hall from the access doors of the data archive.

'Could Master Qui-Gon have made a mistake in believing Anakin was the chosen one?' Obi-Wan pondered.

And then, sensing great anxiety in the Force, his eyes wandered to the source of it at the end of the corridor, where Lex Halo stood frozen in front of him.

'The medical lieutenant?...Odd...It seems every time we cross paths, my thoughts turn to Master Qui-Gon. If it really is still just coincidence, chance has never left so little to surprise."

'Get out of my head, get out of my head, please get out of my head,' Lex repeated to herself, trying to block the Jedi Master and these intrusive visions from her thoughts. 'Every time he shows up, it's like I lose control of my mind. It's always Jedi mind tricks, but I won't lose my damn head every time he's around.'

Because these visions were just a distraction from the more important lingering questions.

Like how it was that Kenobi found himself in a strictly 'Authorized Personnel Only' corridor of the base, stalking the data archive at this hour of the night?

Wasn't Q2 supposed to be guarding the terminal?

Because if he wasn't shorting circuits somewhere with a lightsaber through his thick, blocky droid head, then what excuse did he have for failing to alert her of the Jedi's breach?

'Don't tell me he's playing Sabacc with the data computer again. Must I do everything around here myself?'

But as much as she'd enjoy thinking up the ultimate punishment for her droid subject later, it didn't help her situation now.

Because there was no point in turning back down the corridor, unless she wanted to scream to the Jedi, "I'm evil and I'm all yours, so come and get me!"

So, taking the Gungan by the tongue, she marched onward. Approaching the Jedi head-on under the masquerade that his meeting her there had been an unexceptional and absolute-

'Coincidence', Obi-Wan decided, as he too proceeded in her direction. 'I think not.'

"Master Jedi," she greeted him with a nod.

"Lieutenant," he returned the gesture.

Both Jedi and lady now standing face-to-face in the middle of the hallway, eyes locked and unavoidable.

"I couldn't help but notice that you appeared lost," she remarked. "Is there something I can help you find, Master Jedi?"

It was the first time they had spoken to each other since his arrival on base, as they were both industriously absorbed in their respective duties.

But that night was one of those rare nights when the base was stable and quiet, giving them a moment of pause in their rapidly changing universe.

Kenobi didn't answer her immediately, taking a moment to study her face, as if he were again questioning what he saw there.

Likely reading something about her through the Force...or however the Force worked with Jedi.

"I should ask if I can be of any help to you, lieutenant," he said. "As I also noticed, it's been hours since you've started your shift and you haven't stopped working. Even your droids have powered down for the night."

"How observant you Jedi are," she answered, her eyes skating suspiciously between him and the archive behind him. "But after all, there are two kinds of people on this base. Those who sleep, and Medics."

"You'll find that I'm mostly acquainted with the latter," he replied. "And since it seems we both have no intention of sleeping tonight, I may as well be useful."

"That won't be necessary, Master Kenobi."

"Please, you may call me Obi-Wan," he told her quietly. "There's no reason to call me master here. Not anymore."

And catching that subtle hint of something troubled in his voice, Lex felt again that haunting tragedy hanging around Kenobi that mirrored the anguish in her visions.

But what does one say to comfort a Jedi, who has always served as a comfort to others?

"I'm sorry," she tried empathy. "There are...so many realities in this universe, and some of them can be so unforgivably harsh...Losing so much at once...it would be hard for anyone, including a Jedi. But I hope you'll find rest. Because the senator will need you to be your strongest now, and help her find wisdom in this uncertain darkness around us."

And as Lex pardoned herself and continued on her path to the data archive, Obi-Wan paused.

Her words lingering with bittersweetness, hitting him like a meteor storm, while resurrecting a warm voice of comfort from his far-away past.

You've been a good apprentice, Obi-Wan, and you're a much wiser man than I am. I foresee you will become a great Jedi Knight.

And just as Lex walked around him to proceed down the hallway, Obi-Wan's eyes fell on the chance cube caged in her hand.

"Wait," he found himself speaking aloud.

A word that came out more like a plea than a request.

And noting the puzzled and confused look on Lex's face when she heard it, Obi-Wan quickly put a valid reason behind it.

"The senator's operation," he said. "Once the babies are born...she will live?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know how to answer that. I'm not a Jedi," Lex said quietly. "But no matter what, I won't ever give up on her, as long as she's willing to fight."

"It seems we're on the same side then," Obi-Wan remarked.

But that subtly conflicted and fleeting smile that Lex gave him only invoked more mindful caution in the Jedi Master.

"Have it your way then," she teased him anyway. "As long as you don't pass out in this corridor before the night's over. I don't need any more of you Jedi in my hospital unit tonight. Take care of yourself, Obi-Wan."

"Well, those are my orders, Lieutenant Halo," he accepted them lightheartedly. Though unable to resist himself when adding, "That is, if there isn't another name I should call you by?"

Lex hesitated.

What did he mean?

Did he believe she was lying about it?

How could he?

There was no way he could...or could he?

Was it just friendly banter or could it really be the reason she'd caught him snooping around the data archive?

Obi-Wan waited, and the longer she took to answer him, the more suspect it made her.

So, she gave him an answer.

"You will call me lieutenant."

And before he could throw another question her way, she retreated.

Discretely hiding the old chance cube in a safe pocket of her medical vest.

Leaving Obi-Wan to wonder if her conveniently timed escapes were more than just perfect coincidence now.

Why does she keep doing that?