Adrina had a bad feeling - about what, she wasn't entirely sure. But some foul plot was undecidedly afoot. She had pushed the feeling aside, focusing on the critical patient on the operating table before her, but it persistently lingered.

Finally, Adrina finished her work on Dmee, though no sooner had she transferred him to recovery and the care of a kind, but new, medtech, than she was pulled in to consult on a complex trauma patient.

Adrina found Sheena pacing the foyer, wringing her hands. Sheena rushed to Adrina's side the moment she appeared. "He'll be alright?"

Adrina offered a compassionate smile. "Yes. He is stable and doing well, considering the state in which we found him."

Sheena sank to the ground as if in a daze. Adrina knelt beside her. "We planned to elope. That's why he was alone. It was my idea to meet at the clinic. Papa must have found out." Sheena cleared her throat. "Papa doesn't approve."

"Are you in danger, Sheena?"

A blinding smile split Sheena's face. "Not so long as I'm with my Lor."

Adrina's heart squeezed, but she ignored her pain. "He is up for a brief visit."

Sheena shot to her feet. "Take me to him!"

Adrina led Sheena through the Infirmary to the private room where her lover waited. "I'll give you both a moment," Adrina murmured, nodding briefly to Dmee.

Adrina updated Dmee's chart while she waited and did her best to not think about Obi-Wan. After five minutes, Adrina pressed the door chime, waited a moment, and entered her patient's room.

"Sheena says you're the doc who saved my life," Dmee said.

Adrina inclined her head to the bandages covering his chest. "How do you feel?"

Dmee pressed his lips together, though that gesture said enough.

"The droid said you declined medication. Would you like to discuss non-medicinal pain management?"

"I've had worse."

The corner's of Adrina's mouth twitched up. "I imagine so. I also know why you are in the position you are currently in, so I will refrain from my usual advice to not land yourself back here again."

Dmee glanced at Sheena, then nodded towards Adrina. Sheena scrambled for a data crystal in her pocket. "I owe you a life debt," Dmee said. Adrina opened her mouth to protest, but Sheena shoved the crystal into Adrina's hand. "One favor. That crystal will tell you how to contact me." Dmee looked at Sheena again. "Thank you, Healer Skywalker. You treated me with respect when you could have left me for dead. That senator wanted to."

"Senator Amidala has a bleeding heart; she wouldn't have abandoned you." Adrina rapped a quick note in Dmee's chart. "You'll stay overnight for further observation, but at this point I see no reason why you wouldn't be discharged in the morning."

Sheena beamed and pressed a kiss onto Dmee's cheek. They were an odd pair - a bubbly socialite and stoic bounty hunter - but there was no mistaking the love in their eyes when they looked at each other.

"I'll have a blanket and pillow brought in for you, Sheena," Adrina said. "But he needs rest."

Sheena's joy faded into solemnity. She nodded. "I won't allow anything to happen to him," she swore. "I will take excellent care of him."

"Of that I have no doubt." Adrina murmured pleasant goodbyes and left the couple to their whisperings.

"There you are!"

Adrina smiled tiredly at Healer Nema. "You were looking for me? I've been with a patient."

"Not me." Nema shook her head. "Master Kenobi."

Oh. "Is he waiting?" Adrina glanced over Nema's shoulder.

"No. He appeared quite harried. I believe he left you a message." Nema pointed to the tech's station.

Laden feet carried Adrina to the station. Adrina stared at the time stamp: two hours ago. Dread curdled her empty stomach. Obi-Wan's holomessage flickered to life. Even in a recording, his beautiful eyes seemed to stare deeply into her own.

"He is back, but Anakin is with me. Carry on with your duties, as I will carry on with mine. Just remember, I always keep my promises."

Obi-Wan's image faded.

Adrina stared at the place Obi-Wan's face, moments prior, occupied.

"So cryptic," Nema commented as she notated her patient's file.

"Not to me," Adrina whispered.

Maul, alive. No wonder Obi-Wan sought her out. Whatever the details, Obi-Wan feared she would seek to follow after him. That fact alone scared her more than his quarry. What circumstances could have possibly arisen that he felt she would attempt to don the mantle of her warrior ancestors?

"I need to make a call. Excuse me for a moment," Adrina murmured.

"You aren't even on shift, officially." Nema smiled. "You may go for as long as you please."

Adrina barely heard. Instead, she headed straight to Padmé's apartment. She found Padmé standing at her panoramic window overlooking the Coruscant skyline, arms folded over her abdomen.

"They left two hours ago," Padmé whispered.

"I don't understand what has happened."

Padmé turned with a sigh. She moved to her couch and sat heavily down. "Duchess Satine reported a hostile takeover of Mandalore, though by whom was unclear. In the absence of firm intelligence, the Jedi Council deemed it an internal affair. Therefore, due to Mandalore's declared neutrality, they refused to send aid."

Adrina held up a hand. "Obi-Wan only said that Maul is back and Anakin is with him."

Padmé pursed her lips. "He suspects Maul is behind the attack on Mandalore. He is defying the Council."

Adrina sank onto the couch. She couldn't even dwell on the surprise of Obi-Wan defying the Council. Maul left nothing but corpses and ruin in his wake. Adrina had hoped, rather than believed, he had perished on Florrum, but she trusted Obi-Wan's judgment implicitly. "I am glad Anakin is with him," she said after a long pause. But she met Padmé's eyes and said, "But I am so very tired of death."

0

"Maelle!" Rex's bellow echoed through the RMSU. Maelle fumbled the bacta patch over the soldier's thigh. She flashed him an apologetic smile and hastily corrected her mistake.

Grief bumped Maelle away from her patient. "Sounds urgent. You go. We're through with the most critical patients."

Maelle sanitized her hands at the station by the door. She met Rex in the hallway. Fives trailed behind, cradling Tupp in his arms. "What happened?" Maelle demanded. She guided them through the chaos to a freshly vacated bed.

"Had to tranq him," Fives grunted.

"Make sure he's stable, then we can talk," Rex said. "And put restraints on him."

Maelle glanced between Rex and Fives. Their expressions, equal parts disturbed and mournful, concerned her. Unease slithered through her, but she ignored the feeling and put her hands on Tupp's temple. "I sense no injury. His vitals are normal. I'll have the MedDroid perform some scans." Maelle fastened the restraints across Tupp's chest and legs. She whirled. "What is going on, Rex?"

Fives answered instead. "He killed General Tiplar."

A chill ran down Maelle's spine. "Impossible."

Ahsoka swept into the room, followed by Master Tiplee. "Can you wake him up? We need answers."

Tupp saved Maelle the trouble of responding. He jolted back to awareness. "Where am I? What's happening? Fives?" Tupp strained against his fetters.

Fives glanced at Rex. "You don't remember?"

"No."

"You murdered General Tiplar."

"No." Tupp's eyes locked with Master Tiplee. "It's…not possible. I would never… I could never!" Tupp thrashed, staring at his raised hands in horror.

Maelle's heart wept for Tupp, as well as for Master Tiplee. The droid approached with preliminary scan results. She forced her eyes away from her panicked and suffering friend. Maelle frowned at the datapad. She read the results twice more.

Fives gripped Tupp's arm to steady him. "You did."

"I don't understand," Tupp stammered. "How could this happen? What's happening to me, Fives?"

Enough was enough. Maelle nodded to the MedDroid, who stepped forward and injected a sedative into Tupp's neck. Despite Tupp's protests and struggling, the sedative took effect within moments. His eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed.

Ahsoka turned to Maelle. "I want answers."

"Let us discuss this in the hallway, please." Maelle herded the soldiers and Jedi out of her patient's room.

Ahsoka folded her arms. "Maelle, what do his scans say? You seem troubled by them." Ahsoka asked.

Maelle pressed her lips together. "His scans are all clear. As far as I can tell with the equipment available to us here, there is nothing physiologically wrong with him."

"Impossible," Fives protested.

"Could it be combat-related stress?" Ahsoka asked.

"We were designed to withstand any stress." Fives shook his head.

"Perhaps," Maelle said, "But he has suffered from migraines over the past two months. We have run every test available to us, yet found no cause. Barring signs of physiological issues, we diagnosed them as stress-induced. Bodies, no matter how hardy, can only withstand so much."

"There has to be something," Ahsoka insisted. "He doesn't seem to remember what happened. Could it be a toxin or drug?"

Master Tiplee tilted her head. "There are rumors that Separatists have been developing an anti-clone virus. Biological warfare is indeed a possibility worthy of consideration."

"What about that phrase he kept repeating?" Fives pressed. "'Good soldiers follow orders.' That's got to mean something, right?"

As gently as she could, Maelle said, "A mental breakdown is also always a possibility. Regardless of your…design, every being has a breaking point. Perhaps Tupp reached his."

Ahsoka dropped her arms. "There have to be more tests you can run. Some fancy Force thing."

Maelle shrugged. "The only test we haven't run on him is a level five atomic brain scan, but I cannot perform that here. He would need to be taken to Coruscant or Kamino. The scan is highly unpleasant and places the patient under a great deal of strain, or we would have pushed for him to undergo the scan earlier." Now she wished she had urged Adrina to request the scan. Perhaps then Tupp would not be under arrest and kind Master Tiplar would be alive. But they had been so certain and Tupp hadn't suffered any migraines recently. That he reported…

Ahsoka threw up her hands. "Great! Let's do that. Kamino is closer. Let's get him to Kamino and get to the bottom of this. Fives, you're with me."

Rex lingered with Maelle after the others drifted away to attend to their other duties. His eyes searched her face. "You don't think it's a drug."

Maelle sighed. "No. I do not."

Rex pointed a finger at her. "There is no way that Tupp-"

Maelle took his hand. "Peace." Rex stared at her. "Tupp is a good man. I am not convinced it's biological warfare, but I do believe there is something foul afoot. We assumed the migraines were stress related. Perhaps we were wrong. Perhaps his migraines and Master Tiplar's murder are connected."

Rex pinched the bridge of his nose. "You think he had, what, some sort of psychotic break?"

"I'm not sure. But I know that Tupp needs our support right now."

"Yeah. Yeah, he does."

"The tribunal will not be kind to him," Maelle said gently.

Rex lowered his eyes. "No, I guess they wouldn't be. He killed a Jedi."

Maelle touched his arm. "I will do all I can for him while he is under my care. And the Kaminoans will be able to take care of him better than anyone. Try not to worry."

0

Smoke curled up from the freighter's console. Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow at Anakin.

"I told you it was a work in progress," Anakin said with an unapologetic grin. "We made it to Mandalore in one piece, didn't we?" Outside, a dull clang reverberated off of the landing platform. Anakin grimaced. "Well, we made it to Mandalore."

"True enough," Obi-Wan muttered. And, really, that is what mattered. "I just hope you can get us back to Coruscant when this is over."

Anakin waved his concern away. "C'mon. Let's go ruin somebody's nefarious plans."

Obtaining Death Watch disguises to replace their borrowed costumes was a simple matter of luring two dock workers onto the freighter.

"I'll secure Satine while you repair the ship," Obi-Wan said. Anakin frowned. "It won't take long."

"I'll rendezvous with you as soon as I'm done," Anakin promised. "Call if you need help."

Obi-Wan snapped a salute and boarded a skiff. Trusting the Force, Obi-Wan piloted the skiff straight to the detention center not far from the dock.

Security at the prison was tight, Obi-Wan granted the Death Watch that, but not tight enough to notice an imposter walk straight through the front door. After Lola Sayu and the treacherous Citadel, the Mandalorian prison seemed almost paltry.

Obi-Wan meticulously categorized each entrance and passageway. Up one turbolift and down three hallways - one right and two lefts - and Obi-Wan found Satine sitting, as if in meditation, alone in a cell. Her ceremonial accouterments were conspicuously absent, but she appeared otherwise unharmed, from the little he could see with her back to the door. Obi-Wan keyed the door open.

Satine raised her head. "Are you here to do your master's bidding?" Her voice rang with righteous indignation. Good.

"Only to help an old friend."

Satine bolted to her feet and whirled. "Obi-Wan!" She threw her arms around his neck. Obi-Wan grimaced and gently extricated himself from her arms. He appreciated her gratitude, but… "I apologize. That was inappropriate." She rallied. "Are you alone?"

"For the moment. My friend is waiting, though the Jedi Council and Galactic Senate refused your call for aid." He glanced into the hallway and donned his helmet.

"I knew you would come," Satine murmured as she followed him into the quiet hallway. "It was the one thing that gave me hope."

"I couldn't abandon my friend in her time of need."

Satine hesitated for a moment. When the turbolift doors closed behind them, she tentatively asked, "Could a woman ever persuade you to leave the Order, or is it only a failing on my part?"

"The workings of my heart are no failings of any woman, only of mine."

Satine's eyes snapped to him and he knew he revealed too much. Her smile wobbled, but she said, with utmost sincerity, "She would be a fortunate woman, indeed, to have the heart of Obi-Wan Kenobi. I hope she appreciates what she possesses."

The turbolift doors parted before Obi-Wan had a moment to process her words. Satine averted her eyes from the Death Watch guard.

"Prisoner transfer," Obi-Wan said with an easy shrug.

The commando tilted his head. "What is the authorization code for the transfer?"

Obi-Wan sighed. Things never could go smoothly. With one sharp blow to the head, the commando collapsed in a heap - too late. A patrol spotted the altercation and sounded the alarm. Obi-Wan grabbed Satine's arm, hauling her from the turbo lift.

Blaster bolts singed the ground dangerously close to their feet as they ran from the building. Wind whipped through his hair and sunlight assaulted his eyes, but he jumped onto an abandoned speeder bike. Satine clambered on behind him. She locked her arms around his waist and Obi-Wan peeled away from the prison.

One terribly precise shot, and the speeder bike dove to the ground. Obi-Wan cursed loudly as they tumbled from the bike. His head slammed into the permacrete. His ears rang. Through blurry vision, he saw Satine struggle to her knees.

But as the smoke began to clear, Obi-Wan's fear was confirmed. Maul and Opress lived.