A/N: Hi, everyone!
...backing away from the angry pitchforks and things... I am really sorry that I haven't updated my multi-chapter fics in a while! I could have last week, but I got sick (I certifiably did not sleep a single minute between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and ended up puking my guts up for a day or so), and then I just got back from a family vacation to Pacific City. And I'm going to be freaking busy the next week. Who knows, though-If I can figure out chapters, I could have some more done by the end of January! :) *crosses fingers*
Anyways, another reason why I haven't updated is because all of my plot animals have gone on vacation at the same time. I got the idea for this fic because of the huge Star Wars kick I got on over vacation. (Ewan McGregor...) Anyways, this is what comes from that. Let me know what you think! :)
-Also, some credit for this story's inspiration is due to Keldae, for her fantastic story "Missing".
DISCLAIMER: ONLY KE-WIN TEJRA AND ALANA PERIN AND GIMBA BELONG TO ME. EVERYTHING ELSE STAR WARS RELATED BELONGS TO GEORGE LUCAS AND LUCASARTS.
Without further ado, please enjoy! (Note: This story takes place...I think it has to be during the Clone Wars, but before Episode 3. Anakin is a Knight, but I don't remember when in the CW Ahsoka appears, so I'm just going to say she's not there yet.)
"Do we even know if he's keeping Jedi prisoners here?" Anakin asked quietly. He and Obi-wan were perched on the outside of a large building. Through a large skylight, they could see Gimba the Hutt slithering around. The Hutt was rumored to be running a major slave operation on Corellia, and had allegedly boasted about his new "Jedi pets" that he had collected. Obi-wan shook his head. "No, we don't-but we have to be one-hundred percent sure he's not before we go back to Coruscant." Anakin nodded, and the two Force-jumped down to the back of the building. They then crept along the side until they could eavesdrop on the guards.
"Gimba's giving us the night off tonight."
"Really? Everyone, or just us?"
"Everyone. He wants to give some extra special attention to his current Jedi pet-the girl with the hot body who won't...you know...let him have his way."
"Oh, you mean that Alana girl. It's a crying shame, really. If the boss really wanted that from her, I'm sure we could...loosen her up a bit." Anakin could see Obi-wan squeezing his lightsaber in a very tight grip.
What's wrong, Obi-wan? he Force-asked cautiously. For a moment, no answer came from Obi-wan. Then, he finally declared, I really hope I'm wrong. I really hope I'm wrong.
"Yeah, but he'll never let us so much as touch her until he gets the information he needs. Besides, she's in such bad shape now..."
By the time night had fallen, all of the guards had vacated the premises. Anakin was glad, because it would make both of his jobs easier-freeing the slaves, and keeping Obi-wan from killing the first person he ran into. His former Master was not in a good mood. Once they were certain they would not be spotted, they ran to the door. Obi-wan cut a massive hole in it, while Anakin watched his back. They then snuck through the compound, keeping an eye out for any guards who may have decided to stay on the premises. On the first two levels they visited, they found a majority of the slaves. They very quickly cut holes in those doors as well, allowing the slaves to escape. "Our ship is very close to this place-not ten minutes away. Go there and wait for us, and we'll take you all to Coruscant so you can get back home." Anakin declared. The slaves cheered, and ran off towards the doors. Obi-wan and Anakin then followed the stairs down further in.
What is it you hope you're wrong about, Obi-wan?
It's nothing, Anakin.
Come on, Master-you can tell me.
I said it's nothing, Anakin.
Yeah, of course it's nothing-you were squeezing your lightsaber so hard I thought it was going to break. I can feel your anger and fear right now! Just tell me, for Force's sake!
...I think the prisoner the guards were talking about earlier...
Yes?
...may be an old friend of mine who went missing a couple of weeks ago.
Oh Sith...see, I told you it wasn't nothing.
Shut up.
Can you feel her Force signature?
Not yet. Maybe when we get down to the room where he's keeping the Jedi prisoners, I might be able to. If it is actually her.
By this point, they had entered a much darker and danker part of the compound. Everything surrounding them reeked of torture and death. The Dark Side was very much present as they walked along. Obi-wan's heart was dropping a mile a minute as he viewed all of the machines and instruments in those rooms, which all had a singular purpose.
"Obi-wan. If she's here, we'll find her. You have my word." Anakin murmured gently, placing a hand on Obi-wan's shoulder. Obi-wan nodded in silent thanks.
The end of the corridor they were in had two rooms. One was a very tiny room, of which the entirety could be seen. It seemed to be a sort of weapons locker. The other was simply one great door. The two Jedi stepped first into the weapons locker. There seemed to be nothing inside, and so they almost stepped out again. But Obi-wan stopped. He could sense something-something that felt so much like Alana that he couldn't bear it. He stooped down and pulled out a lightsaber. He turned it on to reveal a turquoise glow- in between blue and green. His face darkened, but then blanched, as he could finally feel the Force signature of the person behind the door.
"It's her, isn't it?" Anakin asked quietly. Obi-wan nodded grimly. "She's in great pain." he murmured. Suddenly, both Jedi sensed something coming and quickly hid. The large door of the other room opened, and a giant Hutt stuck his leering face out. After looking around, he turned to two beings following behind him. "Make sure this door stays open! I want the others to hear her screams!"
"Roger that, sir!" The two battle droids replied. The Hutt then slithered back into the room, cackling maniacally, as the two battle droids took up defensive positions, and Anakin successfully held Obi-wan back from charging in and stabbing the Hutt then and there.
But just barely.
"Wait, Obi-wan! We need to have a plan before we go in there, unless you want Alana to be killed before we can ever rescue her! I can't believe I'm telling you to do this, but think for a second!" Anakin whispered. Obi-wan took a few deep breaths, and when he felt calmer, nodded. Anakin then slowly released him. "We need a plan." the younger Jedi muttered. "And you know you're the best at that sort of thing." Obi-wan looked over at the battle droids, and grinned. "Well, we're in luck. I think I have one."
The battle droids looked out at the hallway, only ever looking forwards. "No one's going to get past us. We're too good at guarding this door. "one said. The other agreed. "Unless something's moving at supersonic speed and we couldn't catch it, nothing's getting in that room. We're the best door-guarders ever." Two blurs flashed by the droids. "Yep, nothing's going to get past us. We're such great door-guarders."
Once inside the room, the two Jedi slowly stalked forwards, senses on high alert. They didn't want to be caught themselves while rescuing Alana. Creeping forwards, they saw Gimba standing in front of someone who was tied up. "You will not deny me any longer, slave! You will access the Force NOW, or I shall kill one of your fellow slaves in front of you again! Now, access the Force and get these levels moving! If you don't...I'll get my way...another way." He trailed his hands down the person's figure, earning a repulsed shudder from his victim. To his right was a giant tube with all sorts of gages and lights and things on it. "Even if I do access it, you'll hurt someone else simply to make me cow with fear. I will not be threatened by you or any of your associates. Not whilst all of my friends are free from your evil." Gimba angrily slid a few feet away at the hoarse declaration, and Obi-wan and Anakin got their first glance at Alana.
Oh, Force. Obi-wan muttered. His friend did not look good. There were cuts and lacerations all over her body, dried blood all over her clothes, and what looked to be a few broken bones-and at least a couple of broken ribs. She was tied standing up, her hands and feet cuffed to some machine by electrocuffs. Even after not having seen Alana in a while, Obi-wan still had a close bond with her, and could feel the immense amount of pain she was in-especially since her mental shields weren't raised. By his expression, Obi-wan knew Anakin could feel it too. "Free, are they? Well, that's funny. Since I happen to know where all of them are at this very moment. Shall I tell you of Bant, who's serving with a clone battalion on Naboo? Or of Garen and Reeft, who are engaged on a dangerous mission on Ryloth? Or even Obi-wan, who...funny...I can't remember...nonetheless, I can find him instantly as well. Or your old Master Ke-win Tejra-I'm sure she'd be happy to talk to us!" The Hutt slimed closer. "You see, I can find any of your friends and use them against you-and there's nothing you can do about it!"
"Leave my friends alone, you filth! They are the greatest things that have ever happened to me-if you touch them, I'll run you through." Gimba turned to smack Alana with his tail, and without even thinking, she tried to stop it with the Force. As she did so, the machine activated, jabbing rods into her arms and legs and sucking the Force out of her. She cried out in agony, both from the machine and from the tail slap. The pain lasted for about thirty seconds. As it receded, Alana felt something. A long-dormant bond between her and another Jedi was reopening, and love and calmness flowed through it.
Calm down, Alana. Just breathe.
...Obi-wan? Is that you?
Yes-Anakin Skywalker and I are here to get you out.
...The other slaves-they all need to get out too-
We already took care of them. They're back on our ship waiting for us to rescue you. Are the electrocuffs the only things binding you at the moment?
...Yes. Obi, I don't know how much longer I can hold out here...
Don't worry. Just hang tight-we're already in the room with you. We'll get you out of here,'Lana. I promise you. Anakin tapped Obi-wan on the arm. Let me send her some energy as well-she looks like she could use it.
All right. Obi-wan nodded. Let me let her know first. Anakin nodded, and Obi-wan turned back to Alana. Hey, like I said, my old Padawan Anakin is with me. He's going to give you some energy as well, all right?
...Okay.
Good. Just hang on, Alana. At Obi-wan's terse nod, Anakin gently sent some of his own energy to Alana, joining it with Obi-wan's already steady stream.
"Oh really. You're going to run me through. And how will you accomplish this? You don't even have your lightsaber!"
"No, she doesn't. But I do." Obi-wan leapt down from the ledge they had been crouching on, lightsaber on, followed by Anakin. Gimba noted that both Jedi had their lightsabers drawn and on, and both looked rather angry. He started to have the inkling of a thought that keeping this Jedi as a pet had been a bad idea outright. He should have just killed her when he had the chance.
"Get back, Jedi! Unless you want your friend here to suffer the consequences!" He positioned his hand by a nearby lever, and Alana tensed up, preparing for the next crash of pain.
"She's already suffered enough, thanks to you. Let her go, and my friend and I may be lenient with you." Anakin declared harshly. Gimba shook his head. "She's too valuable to me to just give her to you."
"Valuable?"
"For her mastery of the Force, calm disposition...among...other things." He eyed her body again with a racy grin, which set both Obi-wan and Anakin's blood boiling. Anakin brought his com to his mouth. "Rex, I've got a massive slimeball here for you to pick up. He needs to be taken to the Republic prisons immediately."
"Roger that-on my way now." Once Rex signed off, Anakin turned back to Gimba. "You're going to jail for a long time, Gimba. Give up now, or your sentence will be much longer." Gimba simply stuck his tongue out at them before pressing a button, which summoned a fleet of battle droids. Half grouped up around Gimba, while the other half went for Alana. Obi-wan lit into the droids going after Alana, protecting her, while Anakin charged Gimba. They made short work of the droids, destroying them rapidly. Anakin then turned to Gimba and tied up his arms using some rope that was nearby. Once Gimba was securely fastened, both Jedi rushed over to Alana. Her breathing had become slower than before, and Obi-wan feared that the only thing keeping her going was the stream of energy they were giving her. "Anakin, can you find the release button for those cuffs?" In response, the cuffs clicked open, and Alana's near deadweight fell into Obi-wan's waiting arms. Obi-wan carefully rotated his friend until he was cradling her in his arms. "How is she?" Anakin asked, coming around the side of the machine. "She's very badly hurt, but with time I think she'll be all right." Anakin nodded. "Then let's get out of here." he said, leading the way out while Obi-wan followed with Alana curled up in his arms.
Alana couldn't feel anything. She was suspended in that place in between consciousness and sleep, where everything was fuzzy and not as it seemed. There was no pain, no Gimba, no Jedi, no...anything, and Alana took full advantage, simply drifting along. However, she slowly came to realize that she was not alone in her drifting. One presence she knew very well was right next to her, while four or five others were clustered around her.
...Alana, it's time to wake up now. Can you hear me?
...Obi? Where am I?
Good, you can hear me. I'm not going to tell you unless you wake up, though. There's some people here to see you.
...Who?
Sorry, little one. You have to wake up in order to find that out.
At Obi-wan's declaration, Alana slowly began to try to wake herself up. She felt Obi-wan helping her, using his presence to wake her up, as did three others in the room. She finally opened her eyes and tried to roll over, groaning as she did so. "Oh sithspit...what hurts?" Two pairs of gentle hands (which had stopped her from rolling over) helped her to roll back over and resettle. "A more accurate question would be what doesn'thurt, you know." a deep voice chuckled. Alana looked up to see a man with long blond hair tied back in a ponytail smiling down at her. Obi-wan stood next to him. "...Garen?" she whispered. He grinned. "The one and only!" Alana groaned, and attempted to fling a pillow at him with the Force. He easily caught it, however, and sent it gliding back down to her bed. "What happened? I thought you and Reeft were on some super classified mission to Ryloth!"
"We were, but finished as of yesterday and arrived back here. Bant alerted us that you weren't doing well, so we came to see how you were getting along." Alana quickly glanced around, and noticed Reeft and Bant also nearby. The other person in the room was someone she didn't quite recognize...
"I'm Anakin Skywalker-formerly apprenticed to this one."
"Oh, so now you're just 'this one', Kenobi."
"Shut it, Garen." Bant and Alana smiled at each other. "Why is it they always start arguing when you're sick or injured-like that one time you had bantha flu? Come to think of it, you had just gotten back from Corellia that time too!" Bant queried. Alana rolled her eyes. "I don't know-maybe just for our enjoyment." Reeft chuckled at that. The Dresselian was sitting at the foot of her bed, eating (as usual) a muja fruit. "It's good to see you all again, and to meet you, Anakin. Obi-wan's told us many stories about you." Alana said. Anakin groaned. Just then, the door to the Healers Ward opened, and in walked three Masters-Yoda, Mace Windu, and Ke-win Tejra. "Doing better are you, Knight Perin?" Yoda asked. Alana nodded. "I think so, Master."
"What are her injuries, Bant?" Mace asked cautiously. Bant turned to a screen. "She's got cuts and lacerations all over her body, internal bleeding, a ruptured appendix, internal bruising, three broken ribs, and a concussion. She needs bed rest for another three weeks, and no lightsaber drills for at least a month." The air seemed to get sucked out of the room. The Masters had a silent conference with each other, and then turned back to the group. "Stay here and rest, you will, until you have recovered your strength. Disobey Healer Eerich's orders, you will not. Keep you here otherwise, your friends will." Yoda commanded.
"...yes, Master." With that, the two Council members left the room. Ke-win walked up and hugged Alana, being conscious of her injuries. "It is good to see you again, Alana. You have been gone for quite a long time." Alana simply leaned into her former Master's embrace, feeling like she was a young Padawan again. Then, Ke-win turned to Alana's friends (and Anakin). "I expect you to help me keep her in this bed, understood?" All of the others nodded. "You know, Alana...you should really get some sleep. That's what going to help you get better the most." Bant declared. Alana smiled. "I doubt I'm going to be able to sleep now-I haven't seen you all in forever!" That's when she noticed the evil grins on everyone's faces. "Oh Force." Each person laid a hand on Alana and whispered Go to sleep and heal through the Force. Due to the sheer number of people in the room, Alana couldn't win, and she quickly drifted off to sleep. The friends grinned at each other (including Ke-win and Anakin), and sat down to play a game of sabaac. They would be there for their friend...no matter how long it took for her to heal. They would always be there.
A/N #2: Well, this kind of took on a life of its own...but I'm happy with it-it's one of my better pieces, I think! I enjoyed writing it, and bringing in characters I haven't written in a while. I hope Anakin wasn't too OOC...I don't think he was, but I can never tell for sure. Please R&R the story and tell me what you think!
May the Force be with you!
1monster2