I am way behind here... again. See, for those of you keeping up with the Clone Wars series, you know that Ventress ended up back on her home planet, we see a bit of her past, Nightsisters, etc etc. However, afterwards there are more plot developments and no more Nightsisters.

This is unfortunately set in that awkward between time period of Nightsisters- in later chapters only. The beginning is early in Asajj's life, when she meets her master, Ky Narec. However, for a dramatic twist, Ky already has a Padawan. This entire half of the story is about Asajj and her two Jedi- thus the title.

Disclaimer... um... Don't own these characters, planets, etc etc...

"I should never have let you pilot the ship."

"Space debris is not my fault, Master."

"Avoiding it is your responsibility."

"You know how well I do with ships."

"Yes, I know how well you do with ships. Terribly. But it doesn't matter now, does it?"

"No, it does not, Master. Although I will point out that if you hadn't left the co-pilot seat we could have pulled out of it." A shower or sparks spattered from the engine, nearly igniting the clothing of the taller figure.

"You do have a point. I suppose we should have a look around and see where we are." He brushed away a piece of ash that was threatening to catch his robes on fire.

"There are several planets in this sector. We could be on any one of them." The younger one stated. "And what's worse, we have no means of contacting anyone back at the Temple. Our ships aren't meant for battle."

"They might end up that way, if things keep going in the direction they're headed. The senate's a real mess right now, and Naboo, which is neutral right now, has come under verbal fire by the Trade Federation. I'm worried that the Jedi will end up involved."

"We are peace keepers, not warriors, Master. Surely we will only be doing things such as escorts and negotiations?"

"That's what I hope, young one. But the Federation and Republic both seem to be assuming that we'll be fighting, and on the side of the Republic." The older Jedi sighed. "And what's worse is that if we try to disentangle ourselves, the whole order could end up caught between them, as an enemy of both. We don't want that at all."

"Of course not master. But you never know, Naboo could work something out with them both and let us all stop sitting on the edge of our seats."

"I certainly hope so young one. I hope I never live to see the day that the Federation and the Republic go to war. But for now, we should focus on figuring out where we are, fixing our ship, and getting back to our destination."

With that, both men stepped out of the shadow of their half broken ship and into the somewhat brighter shadow of the alleyway they were in. The young girl watching them ducked back into the doorway of the stone building, than peered back out again, wanting to see these people more clearly. From her observations, they were offworlders, a master and a slave, discussing a matter she didn't understand. A possibility of civil war she understood perfectly, but she didn't know anything about this republic or federation or order they spoke of.

She could see them a little better now in the dim light. The master was a tall man, a human, with long brown hair and a beard. The slave was younger, shorter, and smaller. His hair was a lighter brown, and shorter. Both of them were dressed in robes that covered most of their bodies. She laughed a bit inwardly wondering how long it would be before they shed their robes in the heat. Most people wore as little as possible here.

They walked past the doorway where she hid, and she pressed herself against the inner wall, silent. Were they really going to leave their ship there, just like that? It was a perfect opportunity to see if they had anything worth stealing. Likely they did- if a man was wealthy enough to afford a slave, he'd surely have something else of value aboard. As they walked out of the alleyway and into the street, the slave paused for a second, as though he'd heard something, but continued walking after his master.

Excellent. Young Asajj slipped silently down the alleyway to their ship, and was able to pick the lock on the beaten door. Opening it proved more difficult, but with a bit of concentration, she summoned more strength to herself. It was something she's always been able to do- with her thought, she could somehow find more strength, energy, agility. She could sense obstacles ahead of her and avoid them, she could leap higher than she thought possible.

The ship was dark, but she didn't dare look for a light. Besides, there probably wasn't any power anyway, she told herself. It was frightening in here. In a way, she could sense people here, much stronger than she could anywhere else. These two men seemed to have stronger presences than the others, and it was as if she could still feel them inside the ship.

There was a small room at the back of the ship with two small beds sticking out of the wall, and a miniscule 'fresher. Along the walls were cupboard doors, which she immediately began digging through. Medical supplies, water, tools… rations. This was what she wanted. It would be the easiest acquired food she'd had in a few days. Food was running short in these times, and you couldn't just get it, you had to search for it and fight for it and sometimes be very, very careful not to get caught. Of course, Asajj was always careful not to get caught. Being a fugitive of sorts had taught her that.

"Who's there?" Suddenly the man's voice was behind her. She whirled, still holding a ration bar. Both of them were back, and in their hands were the strangest weapons she'd ever seen. They were swords that glowed, as it they were holding light itself. The master's was green, while the slave's was blue- she wondered briefly why he trusted his slave enough to arm him.

The light they cast lit the room enough for her to see them clearly, and worse, for them to see her. "It's just a child." The master muttered dismissively.

"But I was right about feeling something." The other pointed out.

Asajj noticed an eyeroll from the elder. "Get out of our ship." Suddenly he was speaking to her, firmly but not cruelly. "Go home to your parents."

She nodded, eyes still on their swords of light, and edged around the room to the door. As soon as she was away from them, she took off like a bolt. Wherever she was going, she wanted to be far, far away from those two men. Their weapons and their powerful presences scared her.

It was towards evening when she saw the two strangers again- fear of street gangs had brought her back to the smaller alleyways, and the passages under the city. It was easy to run that way. The master was venturing towards a rough looking group of men clustered in the center of the main road.

The idiot! Didn't he know anything about how this planet worked? Didn't he know that those men were the Zarn'fi, one of the deadliest street gangs in the city? That they were responsible for most of the murders around here lately? That they liked to carve their symbol into men's backs for entertainment? Didn't he know that they didn't like offworlders?

The slave was nearby, watching cautiously as his master approached. It was interesting, that this offworlder should run headfirst into danger while his slave stood idly, and with no visible restraints to keep him from running away. No matter. She wanted to warn the man before he got any nearer to the group of Zarn'fi. For some reason, she wanted to. Maybe it was because the two had those odd presences that she was curious about, or their interesting weapons, or maybe the fact that they hadn't killed her earlier. Or simply because they were stupid ignorant offworlders who didn't know any better.

"Tell your idiot companion that he's going to get himself killed." She hissed, before starting to duck back into the alleyway where it was safe. Well, safer.

"Oh, it's you." the younger one replied, seeming surprised.

"Yes it's me. Tell him," she gestured towards the master, who was halfway up the street by now, "that he can't just go up to those people. They'll mark him if he's lucky and kill him if he's not."

The slave closed his eyes, as though concentrating, and to her surprise, the master responded, glancing back towards them. The shorter one gestured with a nod of his head, and the master trotted leisurely over. "What's the matter?"

"Her again." He responded. "Go ahead and tell him what you told me." Asajj froze. She had wanted to just warn them and leave again, but now they wanted her to stick around.

"Those are a band of Zarn'fi. They're a vicious street gang. They're going to kill you, most likely."

"Kill me? For asking if there's a ship repair place around?"

"We don't like offworlders much here." She responded, slipping back into the alleyway. The younger one caught her arm.

"You seem to." Asajj attempted to wrench away from him, but his grip was stronger.

"Let go of me." She ordered, cold and deadly.

"I will, but please stay. We need some answers from someone who knows something about this place, and you're obviously fluent in Basic."

"I was wondering about that." The master put in. "Have you ever been offworld, child?"

"You don't need to know that, now let go." A few of the Zarn'fi were starting to notice the little scuffle going on down the street, and the last thing she wanted was for them to get a good look at her. "Let go or I swear I will-"

She didn't have to finish her threat, because he released her wrist. "Alright, alright. We'd just appreciate some help from someone who can speak basic and doesn't want to kill us."

"Look, I need to run if I'm spotted, and I can't do that with two offworlders tailing me. I have to blend in, ok?"

"Where are your parents?" The older one asked.

"You don't need to know where I live." She snipped back. "But listen. I'd recommend getting away from here as quickly as possible, because if they happen to notice you're not from around here, and it isn't hard, they will chase you down and kill you." Just leave me alone now. I did my part and stopped you from committing suicide. We're even.

"And why would they go after you?" There was no time for her to answer. A group of Zarn'fi was headed towards them. She took off running, hearing a vague protest from the two strangers. No time to think of them. It was everyone for themselves on these streets.

The street gang let out a few cries of anger, and she heard gunshots. Her hair streamed out behind her, a few strands of dark red hanging in her face. Curse hair. She'd only grown it out to disguise herself, and was finding it highly inconvenient.

Suddenly, to her shock, the offworlders had caught up with her, avoiding the many obstacles as easily as she did. Of course… they had those strange presences. Unfortunately, the Zarn'fi knew the streets as well as she, and there were more of them. Still the strangers kept pace with her, seeming to know when and where she would turn and following her.

She wished they'd split away from her; she needed to lose the gang, and these two trailing her made that hard. There were more gunshots. The offworlders were covering their backs with their strange weapons as they ran, and somehow their swords blocked bullets.

She wasn't so lucky. A bullet hit the ground and ricocheted back upwards, burying itself in her lower leg. She tumbled down with a cry of pain. Stupid offworlders, ruining everything. Now she was caught, and if they discovered who she was, dead. To her surprise, the younger one slowed as he came towards her, and the older one stopped altogether.

"Keep going, get to the ship. I'll hold 'em off." The master shouted, turning to face the approaching men. The slave was offering her his hand. Very well… she'd let these strangers help her. She took his extended hand and hauled herself up, keeping all her weight on her left leg. As she and the offworlder hobbled away, she heard the elder one speaking to their pursuers from behind them- "You do not need to follow us."

"We do not need to follow you." Who were these people, who could command the gangs and have them listen? She was feeling a bit more than uneasy about the way the younger one led her along, but there wasn't much she could do about it. Her leg was on fire, and the best she was able to do right now was blink back the tears.

They'd arrived back at the offworlders' ship, which, though the engine looked beat up, was still as suitable a shelter as any house- probably more so. The metal of the ship was thick, and there was no way any bullets were getting through. There was a real door, the same battered one she'd pried open earlier. She hesitated. The man next to her glanced over at her.

"You don't have to fear us."

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't."

"You speak Basic. How did you learn it?"

"I speak everything spoken in this system, Basic included."

"That is not an answer, young one."

"I asked you for a reason not to fear you. You didn't give memy answer."

"Touché. How about we go inside and see to your leg?"

"Perhaps."

"Oh for…" She could see him trying to keep calm. "You have a bullet wound. You're not going to be running anywhere. And if we wanted to kill you, you'd be dead by now. Please co-operate."

"I don't want to. But very well."

Once inside, she sat on a bench and he looked at her foot. "There's something in here."

"That'd be the bullet, stupid." She hissed under her breath.

"A bullet? As in, a chunk of metal?" She hadn't intended him to hear her, but he responded anyway. "What sort of guns do they use here?"

"Why, what do your guns shoot, light?" She meant it as sarcasm, but he nodded.

"Actually, yes. Laser beams. Most planets haven't fought with metal bullets for centuries."

"Well welcome to Rattitakk then."

"Where are your parents?"

"I don't have parents."

"They're dead?"

"I don't know."

"You're lost?"

"Do I look lost?"

He sighed, frustrated again. "You do know it's hard to get anything out of you?"

"That's the idea. I don't want you to know anything more than you have to."

"And why's that?"

"I'm… not the Zarn'fi's favorite person right now."

"Because?"

She hesitated again. "I was once… a slave, for a man they hate. That and I'm educated. They don't like people who know too much."

"This man, the one you were a slave to, did you run away from him?"

"No. He died."

"Was he the one who taught you to speak Basic?"

"Yes." She glanced back down at her ankle, but the man caught her hand before she could touch it.

"Just keep talking to me. It will distract you from the pain. My master will help when he gets back."

"He is a good slave-owner then?"

"No, no, my dear," he responded. "I'm not a slave. He is a master, as in a teacher." He had an interesting dialect to his voice, not like her old master's.

"Where are you from?"

"Corausant."

Finally something she knew! "It's a planet of all buildings, with a sky full of ships, and so many lights you can't tell if it's day or night, isn't it?"

His eyebrows raised in a way that would become familiar to her over the next phase of her life. "Yes. Have you ever been there, Young One?"

"I've never left the system. My job was to learn languages."

"So you were a translator?"

"You're clever."

"I try."

"What do you do, on Corausant? Or what does your teacher do?"

"We are Jedi."

At that moment, the teacher entered the ship. "They will have no reason to venture down this street for a long time, I've convinced them of that. Now, Young One, let's see to that wound of yours. Did you find out where she lives?" These words were spoken to the apprentice.

"Couldn't get a word out of her, Master. She's determined not to let us help her, though from what I worked out, I think she's quite a ways from home."

Clever ones… always the clever ones that she ended up stuck with. Her master had been clever as well- he knew there was a profit to be made in trading between the planets, the clans, the gangs, and the warlords, and he'd known a good slave would make his life a lot easier. It was why he'd wanted her.

"What are Jedi?" She asked, determined not to think about the pain in her foot. The last thing she wanted to do was cry in front of these offworlders.

"The Jedi are an order of peacekeepers." The older one was rubbing something that stung onto her wound, but the younger one kept talking. "We help out with negotiations between planets, train force-sensitive children, and keep the Force balanced."

"And what is-"

"The Force?" He asked, guessing her next question. "The Force is an energy that flows through all life-forms. Some people feel it more strongly than others, and these people can learn to control the Force, and use it to help others and themselves. Judging from your agility back there, I'd say you are Force-sensitive, at least a bit."

"It's a reckless, untrained energy you have, Young One." The master continued, standing, "But you could learn to control it."

"How do I do that?" Asajj asked, intrigued with the idea of this. Controlling an energy that flowed through everything…

"It revolves around controlling your emotions, and in using the Force not for your own benefit, but to help other people. Alright, I'm going to have to dig it out." The master decided.

"Don't." Asajj said.

"If I don't dig it out, it'll only get worse."

"I know."

"Come on, Young One." The younger… Jedi standing at her side smiled. "Best to get it out before it gets infected."

She drew in a deep breath, and then released it slowly. They were right. It would only hurt more later, and the wound felt somewhat numb right now from whatever he'd rubbed into it.

She clenched both fists onto the young one's arm as the master worked the bullet out with a metal tool. When he finally had it out, he tossed it into a garbage can with disgust, which sent a few drops of her blood arching through the air and leaving a trail of dots from the table she sat at to the can.

She'd wanted to leave as soon as he was done bandaging the area, but they insisted she stay longer, for her health's sake. She wasn't sure if they meant it or just wanted to speak with someone who spoke Basic, but since she couldn't walk very well anyway, she took them up on the offer.

"What are your names, anyway?" she asked as she arranged a pile of blankets on the floor under the lower bunk. They'd both offered her their beds, but she'd declined, preferring the safety of the under-bed area.

"I am Ky Narec. And my apprentice here is-"

"Ben." He answered. "Ben… Kenobi." A significant glance passed between master and apprentice, and she wondered if he was making the last name up, but it didn't matter. She had food, shelter, and a pile of blankets, and partially trusted these two men. Good enough for now.

Ky's apprentice, obviously, is young Obi-wan, which means that Ky is indeed Qui-gon's undercover name. If you like apprentice Obi and Qui, you're in luck- I'm also writing a one-shot about them and young Anakin that *gasp* doesn't include Asajj at all.

I probably won't update this for a while, but I AM working on a few more stories- Probably some bounty hunter Asajj, and updating Shadow, Bonded, Versus, and Cleverlight. I'm also doing a drabble for Doctor Who, and some humor type stuff for Harry Potter. Some Doctor Whooves, if I get around to it, because Doctor Whooves is the best thing ever.

There you go, story of my writing life.