The Clone Wars have dragged on for far longer than anyone anticipated. Ten long years of endless fighting have crippled both the Republic and Confederacy of Independent Star Systems. Neither Jedi nor Separatists have been able to gain the upper hand. The deadlock gripping the galaxy has cost more than just the lives of soldiers and clones; it has robbed many others of so much more.

Asajj Ventress, former assassin for the Sith and bitter enemy of the Jedi, has brought peace to her homeworld of Rattatak. After turning her back on a conflict she no longer believed in, she has driven like-minded mercenaries, war profiteers, and would-be warlords from her beloved planet. In their places she has rebuilt Rattatak into a self-sustained world as its empress.

Although she is happy with the changes she has brought to the war-ravaged world, it has been eight standard years since she has seen or heard from her Jedi lover. She cannot help but to wonder if they will ever meet again. Her heart grows heavier with each passing day, not for herself, but for the child Obi-Wan Kenobi never knew he had…

"Karis," Asajj called, not looking up from the datapad in her hands. "I can't hear you playing. Have you forgotten the notes?" No answer. "Karis?" The datapad was soon forgotten as concern for her daughter replaced all thought of her next political move.

"Mother." The fear and pain in that one word lifted Asajj from her seat and into the room where her daughter sat with her instrument hanging loosely from her hands. "Something's wrong…"

Asajj knelt down in front of her child, examining her for any signs of injury. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

And then she felt it. A great wave of terror, agony, and suddenly…silence. She clutched at her head as the emotions bombarded her without mercy for what seemed to be a lifetime. When the sensations finally ebbed, she found her daughter grasping her hands with a strength that belied her youth. She looked up into Karis's eyes, his eyes, and saw reflected in them a sadness so great that her heart nearly broke. "Karis, you felt it…"

"Yes, Mother," her small voice answered. "The Republic's war is over. But the cost…

"Do…do you think Father…"

"No." Asajj was quick to stamp out the very notion that Obi-Wan had been one of those voices that had cried out in the Force. "I would know if he were…" She can't even say the word.

Karis could see how uneasy speaking of her father made her mother, especially now. She quickly forced down the remnants of the foreign emotions and offered a suggestion. "Perhaps we should check the HoloNet?"

Asajj blinked. Though still very young, Karis was very much her father's daughter when it came to rational thinking. She smiled up at her before standing, keeping a tight hold on her child's hand. "Of course. Let's see what's happened."

It was worse than Asajj could have imagined: the Jedi had been utterly betrayed…by their own clone troops. True, she had once sought to destroy the Order she had believed to be so corrupt and arrogant, but this…this wasn't simple revenge. This was an extermination. The HoloNet reporters were calling it "Order 66": the Jedi had betrayed the Republic, and were dealt with accordingly by now-Emperor Palpatine. Asajj called it "cold-blooded murder". Funny how that phrase should sound so foul to me now.

"Mother," Karis whispered. "What does this mean?"

Asajj had to think for a long moment. She couldn't begin to explain how everything had come to this, how the Jedi had grown so blind to the Dark Side that they could not see the very evil they had sought to eradicate right under their noses. "It means," she said at length, "that the galaxy is in very deep trouble."

"What are we going to do?"

Asajj couldn't tear her eyes from the screen. If she looked at her daughter she would surely think of Obi-Wan and open herself to a deeper fear. "What we are going to do," she said slowly, switching off the horrific images from the hacked broadcast signal, "is nothing."

"Nothing?"

"That's right." Much as it pained her to do so, she had to push aside her personal feelings for the sake of her daughter and her planet. "This is Republic business and none of ours. We will continue living as we always have in our own corner of the Rim."

Karis gaped at her mother. "How can you say that? The Emperor just committed genocide! No one will be safe, not even out here in the Outer Rim! The Jedi-"

"The Jedi were fools to not prepare for this betrayal, child," Asajj said firmly. "I detest the disloyalty, but their blind trust in their clones was their downfall. And now they're gone."

"And what about Father? Don't you care about him?"

The words stung. "Of course I do."

Karis put her hands on her hips, drawing herself to her full height, all one-and-a-half meters of her. "Then shouldn't we do something to help him?"

Asajj let out a shaky sigh. Karis was too passionate (and smart) for her own good. She knelt down to her level, her hands gently taking her shoulders. "Karis, hear me well: the best thing we can do for him is to stay out of it."

"But-"

"If we rush headlong into this mess, we'd only be drawing attention to him. And what good would we have done then?" Karis tried to argue, but she had no retort. Asajj softened her voice and brushed the dark auburn hair from her child's face. "We stay put. We carry on for the good of our people. We stay out of sight and out of mind of this new Empire. Am I understood?"

Karis dropped her gaze to the floor. There was nothing she could say that would change her mother's mind. "Yes, Mother." But she couldn't resist one last attempt at defiance. "But I still think Father will need us."

Asajj sighed again, this time in affectionate frustration. "I believe you are right. But for now, we wait." And pray.

Mother and daughter didn't have to wait long. That night both were roused from restless sleep by another disturbance in the Force. Asajj could hear the voice, that voice that she had longed for for so many years, as clearly as if he were standing right beside her. My love, it echoed in her head. The Republic has fallen. None of us is safe. I must go into exile. I can't tell you where, but know that I will love you with all my being from now unto the ending of the universe. I'm so sorry, my darling. Forgive me.

Alone in her chambers, accompanied only by the smothering silence and gloomy light from the glow globes, Asajj wept. She had not shed tears in well over a decade, not even while giving birth. The tears burned her eyes like liquid fire and turned her throat to sand. "Obi-Wan," she gasped in the darkness. "You fool."

"Tatooine."

Asajj jumped at the other voice, unaware that Karis had awoken and now stood in her doorway. She wiped at her face in the hopes that her daughter hadn't seen her give in to her weakness. "Karis, what are you doing up at this hour?"

"I heard it, too. It was him, wasn't it?" Her mother's silence was all the confirmation she needed. "We need to go to Tatooine. Now."

"Why would we go there? Our place is here, not on a Hutt's world. Now go back to sleep."

"No, Mother." Karis strode to her mother's bedside. Asajj sensed the change in her; this was not entirely Karis standing beside her. This was the Force guiding her, speaking through her. "We must go to Tatooine. We will be needed there."

"Karis-"

The child took her mother's hand and locked her bright blue eyes with pale silver ones. "We must."

Asajj looked upon her child in wonder. She had always known that a child born to two Force-sensitives as powerful as Obi-Wan and herself would be even greater in the Force, but it was still an awesome sight to see with her own eyes. A deep breath chased away her sorrow. Another instilled a steady calm in her heart. A third cleared away the haze in her mind and showed her the truth.

She tightened her hand on Karis's, laying the other on top of both. "We will." She offered a smile tinged with sadness and just the slightest bit of hope. "We will."

Tehnari, Asajj's closest advisor and friend throughout the whole of her reign, tried to hide her tears when Asajj informed her of the plans to leave Rattatak. She had tried to talk her empress out of such an absurd idea, but the words lodged in her throat when she saw the small smile on Asajj's lips mirrored on Karis's as well.

"Tehnari," Asajj whispered gently, "You are more than suited to sit on the throne. It was you who oversaw dozens of operations and helped me to keep my head during the more trying times. My time here has come to an end. I'm needed elsewhere."

"But where will you go, Your Majesty? What will I tell the people?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell anyone, Tehnari, not even you. Karis and I will be safe. We will be in good company. As for what to say to the people, I'm sure you can come up with something simple yet eloquent. After all, you did give a beautiful eulogy at Priestess Manicia's funeral." Asajj put a comforting hand on the older woman's arm. "I would not be doing this if it wasn't of the greatest importance. The galaxy is changing, and not for the better. Rattatak would only become a target if I stayed. Only under your guidance will it remain safe."

Asajj offered one last goodbye to her old friend before joining Karis on the boarding ramp of the small ship, taking her hand as if they were merely going for a stroll among the art gallery. "Your Majesty," Tehnari called suddenly. Mother and daughter looked back. The older woman, now Empress of Rattatak, opened and closed her mouth several times before finally saying, "May the Force be with you both."

Asajj was stunned; she had not heard that farewell in so many years. She didn't even know Tehnari knew what it meant to say it. But none of that mattered. All that did was that this woman was saying the only farewell she knew wouldn't be too little or too saccharine. Asajj smiled and raised her free hand in salute. "And also with you, my friend."

A half dozen worlds and ship transfers later, the endless desert of Tatooine came into view through the small transparisteel viewports. The freighter touched down in the landing bay of Mos Espa's port among a plethora of other ships, cargo and personal alike. Asajj and Karis, both hooded and cloaked in tattered robes that hid their royal nature, exited the ship and made their way through the busy ship port without a sound. They refrained from using the Force to mask their passage, relying instead on their own cunning and skills; Asajj's developed from years of service as an assassin, Karis's inherited from both her mother and father.

Once free from the near-stifling atmosphere of the city, accompanied now by a newly-purchased eopie, Asajj allowed only a small fraction of her Force power to search out the path taken by her long-absent lover. There you are, she thought when she found it. She urged the beast into a light trot so as to avoid unnecessary attention and tried to contain her rampant emotions.

Obi-Wan had made it clear that he'd intended to go into self-imposed exile alone. He fully expected to spend the rest of his life with only the twin suns, trio of moons, and infinite sands for company. She couldn't imagine what had driven him to this desolate world, but she could perfectly well imagine his reaction when she found him. In fact, she could imagine a great many reactions.

Would he be pleased to see her again? He hadn't contacted her in nearly a decade. Perhaps he had completed his personal mission to 'save' her from herself and had subsequently wanted nothing further to do with her. And what would he say upon seeing Karis? There was no mistaking her parentage; it was written all over her face from her blue eyes to her auburn hair, a blend of Obi-Wan's and Asajj's (though the former chose to keep her head shaved). It was in the strength of her presence in the Force, in her rational mind and her quick tongue. Would he accept the child he had helped to create?

Would he turn them both away and insist on living the rest of his life in loneliness and silence?

Asajj shook the thoughts away. They were beginning to depress and frighten her. She couldn't allow herself to agonize over things that had not yet happened. As Karis dozed in front of her, Asajj repeated his final words to her like a mantra, like a prayer: I will love you with all my being from now unto the ending of the universe.

That confession, whether genuine or not, was enough to drive her onward.

The suns had approached the horizon when Karis stirred. She turned sleepy eyes to gaze up at her mother, who stroked her face as gently as she always did whenever Karis was sick. "He's close, Mother," she said softly.

Asajj grinned knowingly. "I know. Rest, darling. You've had a long journey."

"So have you, but you're not resting."

Asajj let out a small laugh at the innocent observation. "I'm your mother. I haven't rested since the day you were born."

Karis's brow furrowed in confusion. "Yes you have."

"Nevermind, dear. Just close your eyes. I'll wake you when we get there."

"You won't have to. He's over that ridge." Karis pointed at the rise of sand only a few hundred meters away. "Mother, do you think he'll like me?"

Asajj's eyes widened in surprise. Had Karis known that she had been thinking that exact same thing only moments before? "Like you? What an absurd thing to say. He'll adore you."

Karis snuggled deeper into her mother's arms, the gentle sway of the eopie lulling back into sleep. "Good. I hope so."

Asajj braced herself as they approached the ridge. She tried not to think of what she'd find, but her imagination was quickly getting the best of her. When she looked down into the small depression against a rock face, she let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. She didn't know what she had been expecting, but this certainly wasn't it.

The hut was small and dirty, most likely not having seen a good caretaker in some time. The walls had been worn down by the constant winds and looked like molten rock in the light of the setting suns. Debris and scrap metal littered the ground around it. And a light burned in a single window.

Settling her daughter firmly in the saddle, Asajj dismounted and led the eopie the rest of the way on foot. She thought about calling out, but decided against it. She then wondered if he knew they were already there; the rise of the Empire wouldn't have dampened his Jedi perception, after all.

She didn't have to wonder long.

Her breath caught when he stepped from the doorway (which lacked an actual door). Aside from the shorter hair, the change of clothes, a few more lines in his face, and the crushing sadness in his eyes he hadn't changed a bit. He stepped towards her slowly, as if if he moved too quickly he would frighten her…or himself. He stopped less than a meter from her. His hand lifted as if to touch her to reassure himself of her presence, but dropped it just as suddenly. Asajj couldn't think of a single thing to say.

But he could. "Hello there."

The sound of his voice, as raw and pained as it was, broke her. She closed the gap between them and sealed her lips over his. He hesitated for only a moment before returning the kiss and gathering her in a tight embrace. Even when the salty taste of tears interfered, even when their lungs burned for oxygen they refused to part. Only the sudden bleat of the eopie behind her snapped them out of their trance. "Hello yourself," she gasped in delayed response.

Obi-Wan let out a gentle laugh, his hands keeping a firm grip on her waist. He looked at her as if she were some divine thing, something so great and awe-inspiring that he was unworthy to be in her presence. "H-How…"

"It wasn't me. You can be a difficult man to track down, but I had a little help."

He tensed in her arms. "What do you mean?"

She was about to respond when she felt a tug on her robe. "Mother, can I say hello, too?"

Only then did Asajj release her hold on Obi-Wan, her hands guiding Karis forward into the fading light. "Of course. Obi-Wan Kenobi, this is Karis. My daughter." She watched his face closely, dreading what she might see but needing to see it regardless. If he intended to disavow them she needed to know now to spare them all the heartache.

His eyes widened. "Your…daughter…"

"And yours."

Time stopped. Even the suns seemed to pause in their descent to watch the scene unfolding before them. Asajj kept her eyes fixed on Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan stared down at Karis. His face was unreadable, but shock was plainly evident in his features. Now the question was whether it was shock born from overwhelming joy…or vehement denial.

Karis, oblivious to the warring emotions raging in her parents and simultaneously unconcerned with the politics of adults, broke the silence first. "Hello, Father. I've waited a long time to see you. Why did you never come visit us?"

That snapped him out of his shock. He knelt down in front of her, one hand tentatively reaching out to touch her hair. His fingers shook. "I…I never knew…"

"But you never contacted Mother either."

"Karis," Asajj warned.

"Well, it's true. If he loved you so much why didn't he ever call?"

Asajj looked at Obi-Wan in apology for her daughter's boldness. He looked at her in apology for eight years of silence. "I wanted to, young one. I truly did. But the war kept me from her. Your mother had rebuilt her entire planet, and my presence there would have put all of that in danger. I thought staying away was the best thing for her…and you, it seems."

Karis looked him over for a long moment, her lips pursed in deep thought. She didn't seem to think his explanation was good enough.

Obi-Wan continued when he saw he wasn't going to be forgiven so easily. Like mother, like daughter. "I do love your mother very much. And because I loved her, I couldn't put her at such risk." He didn't mention that having a child violated one of the most basic rules of the Jedi Order. "I wanted to keep her safe from the war. She'd seen too much of it already."

Karis's expression didn't change. Her eyes stayed locked on him even as he looked down at her feet. Guilt and shame poured from him, making Asajj's heart go out to him. He had probably kept himself away with great difficulty over the years and was now being forced to confront his choice by a child. But not just any child: his.

Asajj decided to spare him further anguish. She stepped forward and gently pulled Karis back. "That's enough, child. I'm sure he's beaten himself up about it enough without your help."

"No," he said suddenly, rising to stand level with her again. "I should have at least contacted you. Leaving you like that, and with…in your…condition…that was unforgivable."

Asajj took his face in her hands, the scratch of his beard against her palms a most welcome sensation. "What I did during the war, that was unforgivable. And yet you found a way to forgive me anyway. I knew the risks I was taking when our relationship…changed. I knew the war and your Jedi Order were more important. You only did what you had to do, my love. Don't blame yourself for that."

He turned into her palm, kissing her skin and deeply inhaling her scent. "There is a lot I blame myself for these days, Asajj."

She knew he was talking about Skywalker. The sorrow emanating from him could only be so strong if it was connected to him. Something had happened; perhaps he had been a victim of Order 66 with the rest of the Jedi. She would force him to face that pain in order to overcome it eventually, but not tonight. Not until he had had time to properly grieve. It was what he would have done for her if their positions were reversed. He'd saved her from herself several times over; the least she could do was return the favor once.

Asajj leaned her forehead against his and closed her eyes. She sent waves of love and comfort to him through the Force, thankful that his shoulders lost their tension. "Don't think about that right now, my love. Leave it be."

Obi-Wan let out a pained laugh before wrapping his fingers around her hands. "I do believe motherhood has made you mellow, my dear." He returned her small smile but sobered quickly. "I was right." He met her eyes with a tearful gaze. "You could have been one of the Order's brightest lights if you had chosen to come with me when we first met. But right now I'm glad you didn't."

"Why?" The word broke in her throat.

"Because you wouldn't be standing here now." He shifted his gaze to Karis, who had grown tired of the "mushy" conversation and was now feeding the eopie a stalk of desert grass. "And neither would she."

Asajj traced her fingers over his hairline, drifting down his cheekbones to the line of his jaw. "Does this mean you're not sending us away?"

He looked at her as if she'd just proclaimed up was down and gravity no longer existed. "Why in space would I do that?"

She smiled as the weight of dread that had settled in her breast lifted at those words. "Just making sure. You are a man of contradictions, after all."

"Mother!" Karis called suddenly. "Bodin had a friend!"

They turned to see a second eopie approaching the child, curiosity blazing in the beast's eyes. "Bodin?" Asajj repeated. "You've named it already?"

Obi-Wan laughed. "It seems Rooh won't be the only one without company now. If you'll stay, that is."

"Why in space would I leave?" She smiled again as she turned his own words against him.

Another kiss, mostly to assure themselves that this was no hallucination or false dream, left both the former Jedi and empress breathless, yet content for the first time in a very long time. "Come inside," Obi-Wan whispered against her smiling lips. "Tatooine nights can get rather cold."

All five of them, Bodin and Rooh included, crowded into the small hut. Obi-Wan only let go of Asajj's hand when she pulled a blanket over Karis, who had curled onto the couch and promptly fallen asleep; the day had been long indeed for the little one. The eopies took to a corner and soon followed Karis's lead into sleep.

Now there was only Obi-Wan and Asajj. He extended a hand, his eyes brimming with love and happiness and relief, that sadness still present but now secondary to all else. She wrapped her fingers around his without hesitation and allowed him to lead her into a small bedroom.

No words were spoken; none needed to be. They simply rediscovered each other, their fingers tracing over scars both old and new, ones they knew the stories behind and ones that remained mysteries to each other. Each pass of fingers over flesh, each press of lips to warm skin strengthened the love that had been unfulfilled for eight long years but never diminished. Each sigh and gasp was a promise. And the explosion of heat in their bodies and light behind their closed eyes as their passion found its inevitable end reaffirmed the bond that they had shared for so many years.

Obi-Wan would always feel as if the weight of the galaxy rested on his shoulders, the weight growing each day when he rode out across the Wastes to check on Luke, but with his new family at his side the loneliness of the desert after the dense crowds of Coruscant didn't seem so bad. Perhaps Karis and Luke together can be the hope the galaxy needs.

Yes, I named their daughter after one of the Nightsisters in The Clone Wars. She seemed to be a good friend of Asajj's (at least that's what was implied by Asajj's concern for her when she lay dying), so I wanted to honor her memory a little bit in this.