Anakin went into the hanger master's office first, but sure enough the tall dark human in charge didn't know any ships that matched that description, or so she claimed. He strode back out. "You're on."

Obi-Wan changed before his eyes, slumping a little, looking left and right and sloshing the food stuffs he'd bought on his 'new' old clothes. Anakin, half out toward the nearest kiosk, couldn't resist the urge to look back. His old Master was impressive at this kind of improvisation. Much better than Anakin ever would be. The Jedi Master, who now looked like a panicked down on his luck citizen, charged into the quartermasters office pleading. "You have to help me! They'll kill me! It was just an accident but they don't care! Help me, there must be a ship leaving. Any ship! I'll pay, I'll work!"

Artoo rolled behind, disappearing into the office and heading toward a temporarily overlooked terminal.

Behind the droid, Obi-Wan's voice rose, "I can't check the cantina! They're looking for me there!

Anakin shook his head and went up a ramp and out into the city, pausing on a balcony overlook. He had a decent view from here, considering the city was set on a low mountain hillside. Buildings of durasteele and glass steele towered above further down, but here they were all low. He strode to the nearest kiosk and pulled up the medical facilities, including abandoned ones and factories big enough to have med facilities on the property. He sucked in a breath and marveled at the clear air. Clean and fresh, far from the dust of Tatooine or the pollution of Coruscant. It didn't smell flowery like Naboo, but he had a feeling their were some nice places here for a vacation. If he ever got a vacation, with the war demands yanking him hither and yon across the galaxy.

Back at the ship, Ahsoka abruptly stood up. She'd been sulking, sitting on the ramp. "Come on." She said out loud to herself. "It's just Skyguy being overprotective. It is NOT a judgment of my abilities...I hope." She whispered the last. Her Master was a master himself at creatively interpreting orders. Well, part of keeping an eye on the ship was seeing who was in the vicinity. She'd barely reached the hanger door and looked up and down the quiet street when a grubby rodian youngling shot past.

He was followed by a much larger humanoid, waving a blaster.

"Hey, Stop that!" Ahsoka ran after. Whatever the youngling had done, surely it couldn't be worth shooting a child?

She barreled around a stack of boxes into the neighboring hanger's storage area. Something landed on her and a sharp stab in the neck made her yell. She reached for her lightsaber but something knocked it out of her hand. The room had come into dim focus, but the figures were blurry. Fury shot through her at her mistake. She hadn't been alert for a trap. She was drugged! What had they given her? Her fingers tugged at the beads she wore over her head tails and then she passed out. She reached out with the Force for her lightsaber but both Force and weapon were slick, like she was trying to grab a slug with greasy hands. A foot landed on the hilt. Fear surged, overriding anger at her mistake.

Anakin was just leaving the speeder rental area when he felt it. The sudden alarm, the surge of the Master Padawan bond, which wasn't nearly as strong as his and Kenobi's as yet. But it was there. Anakin slammed the speeder into high speed, cutting into traffic and racing back to the hanger. He had his comlink out calling his apprentice. The lack of answer turned him cold inside. He switched gears and called Obi-Wan.

"Are you done yet?" He fired out.

"We're just leaving. What's wrong?"

"Ahsoka. Something happened and I can't raise her."

"Wait for us! We'll..." Anakin cut him off, leaping from the cockpit. "Snips! Ahsoka!"

The hanger was empty. So was the ship. Furious and frightened, he forced himself to stop, breath, do a quick calming exercise and run a hand through his hair. They had his padawan. Somehow he knew it. Why had he assumed she'd be safe on the ship?

He marched out the hanger door again and used the Force to cast up and down the street. That way. All the way at the end of the block and one over. A group of children, including a rodian, were playing with a new hover ball. They were the only ones on the street. He caught it as it sailed his way. "Have you seen a togruta?" The younglings looked at him warily. "Can we have our ball?" One jumped and grabbed it, trying to wrestle it back. Another kicked him. "We earned it! Didn't steal!"

"Hey, take it easy! " Anakin handed it back and kneeled. "I didn't say you stole it. I'm just looking for a friend." He gauged the reactions, noting that they glanced at each other, then at a girl, finally at a rodian boy. Then they looked away quickly. But the girl was the leader and the boy knew something. "How did you earn your hover ball anyway? That's a nice one."

"Man paid me!" The rodian boy pointed at himself. "Play chase he said. He have toy blaster. Like real though. Scary real."

"Where did you play?"

The rodian pointed up and down the street passed the hanger. Anakin's emotions surged. This had been no game. "Do you know where he went?"

"What in it for me?"

This may not be Tatooine, but these kids...and he knew it was not just the rodian...all looked at him just as he had seen others do on Tatooine. The kids who'd learned to look out for number one. He could've been one of them, if not for his mother. She'd taught him generosity, encouraged him to always help others if he could.

"Oh, Rundo, just tell him, so we can play!" The girl was a bit older and reminded him of his friend Amee back in Mos Espa. She'd be an adult by now...

Rundo sighed. "Follow me." He clutched the hover ball and lead the jedi to a nearby hanger. He led Anakin in and pointed to a stack of crates in the corner, next to the storage room door. "Game end there. I beat him there, I win ball."

"Thanks." Anakin impatient, but grateful, noticed the other kids peering after them around the hanger door. Impulsively, he pulled out some credits and passed them out to the kids. "Here...and if you should, say, keep an eye on the hanger next door and let me know if anyone is sneaking up on my ship, you can earn some more. My name's Anakin."

The kids took to their new job with great enthusiasm and Anakin returned to the storage room. He stared hard, senses alert. No sign of anyone. Lightsaber at the ready, he crept in. He noted the stack of crates high on either side, the deep shadows. This was the perfect place for an ambush. He carefully crept around the boxes. His foot skidded and something crunched. He halted, looked down, frowning. His left hand snatched up the offending objects. Beads. The beads Ahsoka wore around her head tails. Dread turned him cold, but he forced it down. What was he afraid of? There was no body, no blood and no smashed battle droids. Likely, this was who they were chasing. So it was more likely that they took her to clone her. He smiled grimly. Two Ahsoka's would be nearly as unnerving as two Anakin Skywalkers he suspected.

Retracing his steps, he went back out to the hanger. He commed Artoo. "Hanger two bays over on our left. Did you happen to get who it's rented to?"

Artoo beeped excitedly.

"He says..."Obi-Wan paused, apparently to wait for the droid to plug into something with a translator." "...it's Stelbay Electronics. They rent several hangers, including one right near where our quarry landed."

"This hanger has a lock key system on it's storage and it hasn't been forced. I found Ahsoka's head gear..."

"We'll meet you at the Twilight."

Anakin shook his head. He couldn't, wouldn't wait. Who knew what they were doing to his padawan?