A.N.

Thanks for the warm welcomes everyone. It's good to be back.

Enjoy!

Chapter 2- Confinement

Ison; The Ison System

An ice cold chill swept across the star systems of the galaxy; it was perhaps the swiftest surrender in its history. It wasn't humble, though. On the contrary, it was the most brutal and destructive exchange since The Clone Wars ended.

Yes, the wars are over at last- nothing but a distant memory to everyone else now, but to him- no. To him it was his greatest achievement; his proudest day. He can never forget it, for to do so would be a betrayal to his very identity.

Darth Vader, the glorious subjugator of the Jedi Order. A tall man encased in armor. A mechanized shell patched with black leather and shadowed steel with no trace of organic life left visible on his form, whereby the only indication of his former humanity was the eerie echoes of his breaths, and yet even that was only due to the machinations of a programmed device implanted and pressed against his heart.

Through his hexagonal mask he gazed outside the viewport of the shuttle towards the approaching planet. Steamy grey clouds swirled about across its hemisphere, like a frothy caffeinated drink. In the Force it cast a dank and grim feel. It was apparent that the planet was a burden of torment and suffering on itself. The people's suffering was just a story on the side.

The human pilot, dressed in the attire of black Imperial uniform turned to face him, "We're coming on to Ison, Lord Vader."

"Get me Commander Warren." Vader's voice boomed- a croaky and authoritative sound.

"As you wish," The pilot nodded, "we're patching the signal now."

Above the viewport a screen presented the image of a human male in grey uniform and cap, his brown mustache swirling over his lips and down to his chin. He offered a quick solemn bow and spoke in a gruff voice with disciplined etiquette, "Lord Vader."

The question that followed did not come across hastily and had a chilling threat in its undertone, "Commander, have you captured the settlement yet?"

"We have, my lord." The pilot nodded, "We disabled their shields and bombarded the defenses from afar, just as you instructed. You may begin your landing."

"Good." He turned his attention to his previous subject, "You have your instructions, pilot."

The officer stiffened in his seat, "Right away, sir."

Uknown, Uknown

It was the silence that tormented her the most.

When Ahsoka woke she was greeted by a blinding ray of light penetrating the only window in her cell. The air was dank and moist. The ground she lay flat on was yellowish brown dirt, which was wet in some areas, indicating that there was possibly a leak somewhere.

She struggled to sit up and noticed her captors didn't even bother to put her on the bed which was provided, but even that was only a dugout in a rocky wall. Her cell was actually very small- three paces this way and that. The entrance to it was sealed by very thick durasteel bars crisscrossing top down and side to side- the gaps were far too small to fit through.

With a heavy grunt she stood and limped to the tiny window, which she could only just barely peer through. Despite having to wince against the sunlight she realized the air was refreshing outside. She made out a gorgeous landscape, below was a seafront and beyond tall mountains with snowcaps; the sky was blue. But there was no indication of what planet she was on at all. No sign of civilization either.

Ahsoka heaved, longing to replenish herself from the anxieties she found herself trapped with here in this horrendous cage. A cage not even fit for a Hutt. Then as she turned away from the window and pressed her back against the wall she noticed for the first time the skeletal remains of an unrecognizable beast had been beside her on the floor all along.

She grimaced and analyzed the layout of the carcass; it was hard to say how this- animal? - died. Did it starve? Or was it killed? Or perhaps it was an unruly prisoner and was put to death by the guards?

Ahsoka shook the thoughts from her head and blinked. Surely if the bounty hunters put her here it must've been for a reason. If they wanted her dead they could've simply killed her on board the ship…but they didn't.

She ran across to the bars and peered through, left and right, looking for any clues as to who might be holding her here. There was no lighting, which made it difficult to see across from the bars, but she could make out makeshift pillars holding up the ceiling no doubt, and beyond that were two more cell blocks with similar bars. One was occupied.

She could see the shadow moving inside, a tall figure with thick arms.

"Hey!" She called, "Can you hear me?"

The head turned towards her and she heard a deep, angry growl. Ahsoka hesitated, but swallowed her doubts and called again, "Can you…understand what I'm saying?"

The figure suddenly leapt towards the bars and she could finally make out his sharp fangs and hairy complexion as he tried to rip them open. He roared aggressively in the native tongue of the Wookiees. A tall and hairy species known to rip the arms off anyone when given a good enough excuse to do so…but this one looked like he needed no excuse. He was already angry.

Ahsoka slowly stepped away from the bars and struggled to hold back tears. She fought hard against surrendering to doubts and fears, but she could find no edge over them. There was no reasoning for hope, but she held against surrender nonetheless, because she quite simply convinced herself that there will be plenty of time to contemplate surrender here- plenty of time to fall into her regrets.

Her failure to uphold her duties; the letdown she was to her Master…

Anakin Skywalker, of course- a name she blemished over and over throughout the timeframe of this conflict. But he was patient with her stride. He picked her up every time she fell, and as they progressed she strove for more of his tutelage. She would realize how he was a man of greater mysteries and misinterpreted wisdoms.

His teachings were unorthodox. And much to her surprise, they were frowned upon by many of her other teachers, which lead her to the questioning of where he came about with all this knowledge?

She first assumed that he was engrossed with much time spent in the Jedi Archives, particularly the forbidden vaults which contained the darker secrets of the galaxy, but it was later clarified that he barely spent any time there at all. Then she presumed that a lot of his knowledge must have been unraveled to him in his travels, but after much time spent with him it became apparent to her that it was partially true- but that wasn't always the case. Until she noticed that Anakin had one unique thing about him that the other Jedi Masters did not entertain.

He was close to Chancellor Palpatine.

The Head of the Galactic Republic, the Commander- In-Chief of the Clone Army , he was also the most intriguing personality garnering the support of all members of The Senate, who represented thousands of planetary system. He was quite simply the most popular man in the galaxy, and the most powerful.

But he was also mysterious.

He had a keen eye for everything Anakin did, and quite often times spent many private hours with the Jedi Knight, away from the eyes of everyone. She didn't like that; and every time she tried to peer into their conversations or looked for hints of what they talked about she would be refused, rejected and either requested to leave, or asked to stop being so nosy.

Over time, she noticed many, many changes in Anakin's behavior. He became more distant, and more aggressive. But despite all her efforts she couldn't get any answers. So she changed tactics, she began pulling him away, and so a tug of war began.

But could this really be why she found herself in this situation? There was a moment just prior to her capture when she sensed what felt like a betrayal, but even that only brought about more questions.

Metallic clanking pulled Ahsoka out of her thoughts. She leaned to glance outside the bar doors and much to her surprise- and distaste- she recognized the source of the interruption.

"Shut up in there, you!" a high toned mechanical voice yelled, "We warned you before about all that noise."

"Battledroids." Ahsoka hissed, and her eyes narrowed, "So, it's the Separatists who are holding me here."

"Ah, leave him alone." A second droid walked on to the scene and stopped in front of the Wookiee's cell, "The commander made his orders clear. This one should starve to death soon enough. We haven't fed him in days!"

"Good point." The first droid nodded then faced the wookiee again, "Growl all you want- you'll die sooner that way."

Ahsoka felt her heart sink. She was quick to judge the prisoner, it was no wonder he was so angry. Wookiees starve easily and that only adds to their temperamental attitudes. If this one hadn't eaten in days he would've feasted on her without hesitation. Suddenly she found herself grateful for these bars.

She pressed her back against the wall and sat beside the bars, hoping that by some twist of fate she will be reunited with her friends and allies again- or at least get some answers as to why she was put here.

Somehow she doubted either scenarios were likely to happen anytime soon. Hence she began the long and agonizing process of preparing her mind and body for the long and tiring struggle of the hours to come.

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Trivia:

1. Ison is a desolate and cold planet in the Outer Rim. A perfect haven for the most notorious Space Pirates.

2. Commander Warren is an original character I created. He bares similar resemblance to Admiral Ozzel- except he is younger and less naiive.

A.N.

No, I am not confused. I know a lot of you are curious about the timframe of this story- bear with me, all will be explained soon enough. You're all in for a bit of a shock.