Disclaimer: Not mine. They all belong to George Lucas.

Author Note: A brief interlude that had to be written before I got into the
plot changing action! Sorry, yet another viewing of AOTC got 'wet-Obi' on my
mind. While he makes an appearance at the end, never fear, he will figure
prominently into the next part! <eg>

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Obi-Wan sighed as he checked their course settings one more time. When one
was heading for a planet that supposedly did not exist, at least in Jedi
records, one needed to be sure of where one was going.

"If you check the coordinates one more time I think I will have to strangle
you. You're making me nervous," Padme muttered from her seat beside him in
the small cockpit of the Nabooian ship they had secured for their journey.

"I just want to make sure we're headed in the right direction," he muttered,
again fiddling with the coordinates as Padme sighed.

"We should reach Kamino within the hour, and I think we should discuss our
plan for handling this situation," she replied as Obi-Wan sent her a frown.

"You don't have to come with me, you can wait in the ship," he tried
hesitantly, sighing at the look she sent him, smiling to himself as he
realized he would have had it no other way.

"As I was saying, what is our plan Obi-Wan?" she asked, completely ignoring
his earlier statement.

Obi-Wan sighed as he settled back into his seat and steepled his hands.

"I have no idea what we will find, but we will have to let the Force guide
us," he mused as Padme laughed wryly.

"That's your plan Master Jedi?" she asked in a slightly teasing voice as he
turned an affronted look her way.

"Well, do you have a better idea?" he asked, knowing she was teasing him but
still feeling her words rankle a bit at his composure.

Padme sighed and the smile disappeared.

"I don't know. I'm hoping these Kaminans will be reasonable people and maybe
I can bring them into the Republic as allies," she mused. It was her turn to
stare at him with a frown as his guffaw of laughter broke into her thoughts.

"Padme, if their planet has been erased from our archives, I am willing to be
they are not going to be extremely anxious to join the Republic," he replied
as her frown turned into a pout.

"Well, I refuse to give up on the idea all together. I have to believe there
is a diplomatic solution," she answered as Obi-Wan's smile disappeared.

"I fear the time for diplomacy has already passed," he mused, turning to her
with worry in his eyes. "Padme, there is another danger," he began, as she
turned to him with a confused expression. "If this bounty hunter is from
Kamino, he might be there and come after you," he finished as Padme bit her
lower lip, the same thought having occurred to her over the past few hours.

"Well, I will just have to rely on your Jedi skills and my quick thinking to
make sure he doesn't kill me," she tossed off, trying to sound less worried
than she felt.

Obi-Wan's outburst startled her.

"You must take this seriously Padme!" Obi-Wan's voice was filled with worry,
his hands tightening into fists as he went on, trying to lower his upset
voice. "This bounty hunter has tried to kill you, your decoy and plenty of
people around us. If he sees you, and I am distracted or not with you, you
could end up dead," he whispered, his face going pale at the thought.

Padme felt her immediate outburst quelled at the worry she could clearly read
in his eyes. He was worried for her safety, more than his. She felt her
heart lighten at the thought as she stood and moved towards him.

Obi-Wan watched the emotions flicker through Padme's eyes as she stood and
moved towards him. He swallowed hard at the soft look that had settled in her
eyes as she reached his seat. He felt his breath stop as she suddenly settled
herself on his lap, her legs dangling over the arms of the seat, her arms
coming up to wrap around his neck.

"I am not going to die Obi-Wan," she whispered, taking one hand and cupping
his cheek, forcing him to look her directly in the eye. "Together, we are
going to find out what these Kaminans have against me, or the Republic, and
figure out a solution. I know you will protect me Obi-Wan," she whispered,
letting her fingers again begin caressing his beard.

He closed his eyes, leaning into her hand, letting her soothing presence and
calming words flow over him like a balm. He refused to analyze how she could
make him feel better with a simple touch and a few heartfelt words. He simply
chalked it up to another mysterious desire of the Force and let his body
absorb the strength she provided.

Padme smiled to herself as she felt him relax, his head coming to rest
against her forehead. She felt her heart speed up as she realized how close
they were, his lips again centimeters away from hers. Leaning forward, she
pressed her lips to his, needing once more to feel their warmth against hers.

Obi-Wan moaned as he felt her lips against his, instinctively opening to her,
feeling her press herself tightly against him in response. Suddenly, the
realization that Padme was sitting in his lap, kissing him, registered.

He felt his body harden as his arms closed around her, letting his hands roam
up and down her back, enjoying the way she shivered against him at the touch.
He deepened the kiss, nearly devouring her mouth now as the desire built
inside him. He could feel himself hardening against her, knew that if they
continued this way much longer, he would do something they would both regret.

But he couldn't make himself stop just yet.

Padme moaned against his lips as she felt his hands slide to her hair,
working to pull the pins from it, thankful she had only pinned it up in a
simple do that morning. She let her hands roam to the back of his neck,
twining in the soft hair she found there, pulling him closer, nearly inhaling
him with every breath.

Finally, she pulled back, panting for air, her eyes fluttering open to meet
his. Her heart stopped at the desire blazing in those 'blue-green' orbs.

"Padme," he whispered, leaning in to plant another lingering kiss on her lips
before moving his kisses down her neck and across her collarbone. He let his
hands get lost in the waterfall of her hair, using it to tilt her head back,
providing him better access to her neck.

Padme shuddered as he nipped and kissed his way across her sensitive skin,
moaning his name as he hit a sensitive spot underneath her ear.

Obi-Wan smiled through his desire, able to feel her pleasure through the
Force bond they had immediately established upon meeting again. His hands
slid down to her waist, bending her gently backwards as he moved his lips
lower, stopping at the collar of the thin shirt she wore.

Padme moaned as he stopped, opening her eyes to see the question in his.
Without a second thought she pulled his head to her chest, gasping as she
felt his warm mouth brush over her sensitive breasts, even through the thin
fabric.

Obi-Wan wondered only that he managed to keep some form of control as he
crushed her against him, his hands sliding underneath the soft material of
her shirt to caress the warm skin he found underneath. Her soft whimper as
his hands slid higher only served to make him desire her more.

Padme felt colors explode behind her eyes as she felt the first gentle touch
of his hands against her breasts. She moaned his name as she arched against
him, mewling as he began to stroke her softly, his eyes locked on her face,
absorbing every expression. She could barely keep her lids open, the
sensations coursing through her nearly paralyzing in their strength.

"Obi-Wan, please," she pleaded, unsure what she wanted, only knowing she
needed something that only he could provide to ease the ache in her body.

With a small sigh of understanding, he slipped the shirt over her head,
sending it falling to the floor with a flick of his wrist. He caught his
breath at the beauty of her, revealed now to him with no barriers.

"Padme, you are so beautiful," he whispered, his hands again beginning to
stroke and knead her flesh as her eyes locked on his, filled with a liquid
desire that sent a bolt of lightening straight to his lower extremities.

Basking in the desire that shone in his eyes as he gazed upon her, Padme felt
no shame. He thought her beautiful, so that was how she would see herself.
But she wanted him to do more than just look. With a small moan, she reached
for him again, pulling his head down so he rested against her chest.

Obi-Wan inhaled the fragrance that was uniquely Padme, amazed at how soft her
skin felt against his. Carefully, using the Force to sense her emotions, he
rubbed his beard against her, delighting in her sharp moan and the waves of
pleasure that he could feel wash over her at his action.

Delighted, he began to use his mouth to suckle and nip at her sensitive
flesh, amazed at the way she instinctively arched into him, moaning and
whispering for him to continue, to never stop.

Padme knew she had never felt anything so exquisite in her life as the
sensations he sent exploding through her body with his kisses and touches.
She managed to pry her eyes open long enough to watch him against her, her
hands burying themselves in his hair as she pulled him tighter to her,
knowing nothing more than that she never wanted him to stop.

But even through the pleasure, she was frustrated that she was the only one
with half her clothing gone.

She decided to remedy that immediately, slipping her hands into the collar of
his tunics, glad he had at least discarded his robe earlier. She sighed as
she felt his warm skin against her fingers, letting her hands roam across the
expanse of bare chest, delighting in his shiver against her as he suddenly
realized what she was doing.

"Padme," he whispered, drawing back long enough to allow her to push his
tunics open even further. She smiled in delight at the bare flesh now in her
line of sight. She curiously ran her hands over his small male nipples,
delighted to hear his hiss of indrawn breath at the move. She looked up into
his eyes, smiling as she read the pleasure there, knowing he was enjoying
this as much as she was.

Taking advantage of their current position, she shifted against him, moaning
as she felt his desire pressing against her thigh, making her shiver with
anticipation. Before he could register what she was up to, she had pressed
her lips to his chest, delighting in his hoarse cry of her name.

Obi-Wan closed his eyes, his hands tightening in Padme's hair as he felt her
soft lips planting kisses against his chest and collarbone. His desire for
her was white hot, pressing against his trousers anxiously as she moved
against him, unaware, he was sure, of what she was doing to his poor,
tortured body.

But the feel of her mouth moving across his chest, her hands stroking his
ribs and stomach was too heady to give up. He allowed his head to fall back
against his neck, moaning his pleasure as she continued to torment him with
her lips and tongue.

The sound of a beeping alarm barely registered to the two locked in their
passionate embrace, but somehow, despite the haze of pleasure and the burn of
desire, Obi-Wan heard.

Quickly pulling Padme away from her pleasurable ministrations to his chest,
he leaned around her to find the source of the alarm. He sighed, his body
crying out in protest as he realized what it meant.

"We are entering Kamino's atmosphere, we're here," he managed in a hoarse
voice, his body tightening even more at Padme's moan of displeasure as she
settled herself against his chest.

"Figures," she muttered under her breath, her body screaming for her to
simply pull his lips back to hers and forget about everything else but their
desire for each other.

Obi-Wan smiled through the desire pulsing through him, settling back in the
seat and pulling her tightly into his arms so her head rested against his
chest. Stroking the flowing tresses of her hair he grabbed for any
self-control he had left, using the Force to calm them both.

Padme sighed as she felt her desire slowly abate at the knowledge they were
almost to Kamino. But it was settled on the back burner, ready to flare up at
any given moment. All she knew was that she was determined to stoke the
flames until she burned. She would settle for nothing less than everything
now that she'd had a taste of Obi-Wan's passion, no matter what the danger.

For a few moments, they simply allowed themselves to revel in each other's
presence, still amazed at how fast things had spiraled out of control.

With a small sigh, Obi-Wan finally pulled her far enough back so that she was
staring into his eyes.

"We will continue this later milady," he whispered, running a finger down her
cheek and pressing a small kiss against her still trembling lips.

"You're damn well right we'll continue this later," she muttered, reluctantly
moving off of his lap and back into her seat.

Smiling at her forceful words, Obi-Wan began to prepare the ship for landing,
pushing his desire to the back of his mind, using the Force to clear and
settle his mind, knowing he would need all his wits about him to protect
Padme and discover what secrets the mysterious Kamino held.

Padme too was relaxing her body, forcing her senses to clear, knowing things
were going to get a lot more dangerous in a few moments.

"There it is, right where it should be," Obi-Wan muttered as a huge gray
planet suddenly appeared in front of them.

"So it exists, I wonder what secrets it holds," Padme echoed his thoughts as
Obi-Wan punched several buttons on the control panel.

"I guess we're going to find out," he replied, exchanging a tense smile with
her as he steered the ship through the gray clouds that had formed around
them as they entered the planet's atmosphere. Seconds later they found
themselves in the middle of a rainstorm, the dome shaped buildings below them
barely visible through the sheets of rain.

"Well, here goes nothing," Obi-Wan muttered as he navigated the ship through
the storm and onto a landing platform at the edge of one dome shaped
building. When they were on solid ground, the two gathered what they would
as they stepped to the door.

"Remember, be alert and aware of everything, and be careful," he stated with
a worried smile as she slipped to his side and pressed a quick kiss against
his lips.

"Here goes nothing," she echoed his words, grasping his hand as they stepped
out of the ship and into the rainstorm.

Padme gasped as the force of the wind hit her, causing her to press tighter
against Obi-Wan's body. The rain was coming down in sheets, completely
drenching both of them before they'd taken more than four steps.

"Here, hurry!" Obi-Wan called, moving quickly with her towards the tall door
in front of them. As they reached it, both looked up in surprise as it slid
open. With a quick look at each other, the two dashed inside, eager to be out
of the storm.

Shaking his head to remove what excess water he could, Obi-Wan felt himself
tense as a tall, long-necked creature walked towards them. Padme too had
gone rigid next to him, her hand instinctively going for the blaster she kept
at her side, beneath her outer cloak.

"Master Jedi, we have been expecting you," the long-necked creature spoke in
a calming voice as it reached them.

Obi-Wan exchanged a startled look with Padme.

"Expecting me?" he asked, clearly puzzled at this reception.

"It has been so long, we wondered if you would ever come," the creature
replied in a calming voice. "If you and your guest would follow me, the Prime
Minister is anxious to meet you," it finished, motioning for them to follow
her.

With another quick look at Padme, he slipped her arm through his and
cautiously began to follow their apparent host.

"This is definitely getting interesting," Padme murmured against his ear.

Obi-Wan remained silent, using every once of Force sense he had to try and
sense anything dangerous or dark. For the moment, everything seemed calm.

But he had a feeling nothing on this small, rain-soaked planet was as it
seemed.

Making a firm vow to keep Padme safe, he tightened his grip on her arm,
sending her a small smile as they followed their host.

He only hoped they weren't walking into a trap.

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